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“THE PURSUIT 


OF 

HAPPINESS ” 

A STORY OF NEW YORK YOUNG PEOPLE 
IN THE TIME OF THE REVOLUTION 








The British commander bowed low over her hand .-Page 204 



4 

“THE PURSUIT 
OF HAPPINESS” 


A Story of New York Young People 
in the Time of the Revolution 

BY 

LEONORA SILL ASHTON 

» * / 

. ' ✓ 


ILLUSTRATED BY 

Frank T. Merrill 



BOSTON 

LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. 


Cs 

















SEP 1 



Copyright, 1932, 

By LEONORA SILL ASHTON 


All rights reserved 


“the pursuit op happiness” 


PRINTED IN U.S.A. 


j 

6 1S32' ; 

©CIA 54850 ^ 




aj 

CO 

CO 



To 

M. S. A. and F. T. A. 




ILLUSTRATIONS 


The British commander bowed low over her 
hand (Page 204) . . . Frontispiece 

FACING PAGE 

Sally was on her knees before the fireplace . 118 

“Look! Look! There is General Wash¬ 
ington !”...... 202 

“I am on your side now, and always will be” . 234 


7 


f 




“THE PURSUIT OF 
HAPPINESS” 

CHAPTER I 

“ In all Niew Am — ” 

Neltje Van Dam stopped suddenly in the 
middle of her enthusiastic exclamation, and bent 
over her small sister’s silver porringer, which 
she had been polishing vigorously. 

“ Catch not thy words, Neltje daughter. I 
like to hear thy tongue slip like that. This 
good town will ever be ‘ Niew Amsterdam ’ to 
thy father; and a better name or a better place, 
I never hope to see.” 

Master Augustus Van Dam, who had been 
standing by the window, settled himself in his 
high-backed chair in front of the blazing wood- 
fire, and, giving a sigh of content, puffed 
steadily at his long-stemmed pipe. 

“ But, Father,” came from the little figure 

9 


10 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

at the opposite end of the room, “ the Watts 
girls and Sally Lansing and Clarissa Morton 
all laugh at me when I say things like that. 
Why, when I started for home yesterday after 
the party, Sally called after me, ‘ Fare thee 
well, Dutch lass,’ and such a laugh as you never 
heard went up from all the boys and girls.” 

There was a suspicious glitter in Neltje’s 
blue eyes as she spoke, and just the suggestion 
of a droop to the pretty corners of her mouth; 
but both disappeared as if by magic, as her 
father pulled himself out of his chair, in one 
of his quick attacks of temper. 

“ And then dost thou call that an insult, child 
of mine? ” he demanded. “ Art thou ashamed 
of thy forbears from the brave Netherlands 
overseas? Art ashamed of thy father and 
mother? To be sure, both thee and thy sister 
were born in this new land, but the Dutch blood 
should run proud in thy veins, I tell ye; no 
matter what English or French or Quaker say 
to thee! ‘Dutch lass’ indeed! No prouder 
name than that couldst thou go by. 4 Dutch 
lass! Dutch lass!’” 

Augustus Van Dam was really very lame, 
but he managed to limp up and down the room 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 11 

on his gouty foot, while he tried to find an out¬ 
let for his rage. 

In a moment his daughter was beside him, 
clinging to his arm. 

“Father, please sit down,” she begged. 
“ You cannot understand until I tell you. The 
boys and girls had no thought of insult for 
me; least of all for you and Mother. They only 
meant that I am old-fashioned, Father. That 
is what they always say; — that I must live up 
to the times, and talk and act more as other 
people do. They say that this isn’t Niew Am¬ 
sterdam any more — that it’s New York now; 
and to call it by its old name is like — well — 
like wearing a bonnet of last year’s make; and 
of course thou wouldst never want me to do 
that, Father.” 

“Of course not! Never, child. But now, 
cease wearying me with the aimless prattle of 
thy friends, and get thee back to thy work.” 

The storm had blown over as quickly as it 
came. 

Augustus Van Dam patted his daughter’s 
golden head, and then took himself back to his 
chair by the fire, and to his pipe, thoroughly 
restored to his usual serene state of mind. 




12 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

Neltje was used to the sudden bursts of rage 
that took place when, for any reason, that 
serenity happened to be disturbed; and like her 
mother, she was always able to still the tempest, 
and then at once to forget all that had happened. 

Now her father watched her contentedly, as 
she tidied the sideboard in the corner of the 
room. The sunlight poured in on her snowy 
little apron and on her blue dress, and mingled 
its beams with her yellow curls. 

Indeed, the golden flood bathed the entire 
room, with all its loved and cared-for furnish¬ 
ings. It lay on the polished surface of the 
table and the overarching beams of oak; on 
the sideboard of the same wood, on the blue 
dishes, on the pewter mugs, and on the few 
precious pieces of silver which were scattered 
here and there. 

Outside, the soft April wind blew in from 
the sea, over the Green, where some young men 
were playing at bowls on the early sward, and 
stirred the white curtains at the window. The 
big placid man by the fireside gave a very audi¬ 
ble sigh of content. 

“ There is really no other home on these shores 
like my own,” he told himself. “And no other 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 13 

place on earth equal to this town, whatever its 
name may be.” 

“How are thy flowers coming along to-day, 
child?” he asked Neltje. 

The girl came close to his chair. “ I’ll war¬ 
rant the whole row of tulips by the fence will 
be out by the time you can walk out on that lame 
foot to see them, Father. And that means the 
day after to-morrow. Remember what the doc¬ 
tor said. And if you go as far as the garden, 
then perhaps you can take a little walk on the 
Battery the next day.” 

“We will wait and see what thy mother says,” 
broke in Master Van Dam hurriedly. “We 
will let thy mother decide, Neltje. She knows 
more about me and my ills than any doctor.” 

44 Mother and Ottolene ought to be here any 
hour now,” replied the girl, dimpling with joy, 
and once more picking up her sister’s porringer 
for a final rub. Ottolene still clung to her baby 
things, although she was five years old. 

With this gleaming object in its place on 
the sideboard, Neltje quickly glanced around 
the room to see that everything was in perfect 
order to greet her mother on her return home, 
and darted into the front hall, on her way up- 


14 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

stairs to make herself ready for that great 
event. 

As she went by the front door there came a 
sudden rap of the knocker. Opening the door 
in answer, she found Clarissa Morton and Sally 
Lansing, both flushed and excited, and evi¬ 
dently eager to tell something of great impor¬ 
tance. 

Neltje looked from one to the other, all in¬ 
terest and curiosity. 

“ What is it, girls ? What is it ? ” she begged. 
Then, remembering her trip upstairs to her 
room: 

“ Come with me and tell me while I do my 
hair. The packet on which Mother and Otto- 
lene are returning home will be in sight any 
minute now.” 

Clarissa and Sally followed Neltje upstairs 
into the low-ceilinged room overlooking the 
garden at the back of the house. This room 
Neltje shared with her small sister. 

The counterpanes on the two beds and the 
curtains blowing at the open windows were as 
white as newly fallen snow. Some hand-made 
rugs lay on the floor at intervals, and some white 
candles stood in shining pewter sticks. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” IS 

Although these last were the only ornaments 
to be seen, the room was neither bare nor lonely 
in its appearance. It seemed rather, as did the 
one downstairs, to hold out arms of love and 
hospitality to all who entered. 

Neltje scrubbed her face and hands at the 
washstand, smoothed her hair, and put on a 
fresh dress. 

“ I don’t know any bedroom that’s as pretty 
and neat as this is,” exclaimed Sally, who had 
been looking around in a silence which was un¬ 
usual for her. “You Netherlander do won¬ 
ders with your homes.” 

Neltje’s fair face was flushed as she faced 
her friend. 

“ I am glad you like my room, Sally,” said 
she. “And I must ever be proud of all that 
my Holland forbears have given me. But 
listen to me, Sally and Clarissa. I don’t want 
to be called a Netherlander; and I don’t want 
to call you two girls English girls. All three 
of us were born right here on this island, in this 
new land, and now we’re something different 
from anything that ever saw the light of day 
in the old world — something ourselves . Can’t 
you understand? I am a New Yorker.” 


16 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

The sparkling Sally took the earnest little 
speaker around the waist and danced with her 
about the room. 

“Who has been whispering in your ears, 
Neltje?” she cried. Then she beckoned both 
her friends to her and sank her voice to a whis¬ 
per, as she began to relate the exciting news 
which she and Clarissa had brought. 

“ But I don’t understand what you mean. 
Can’t you say it out loud? ” asked Neltje in her 
natural tone of voice. 

“ It’s best not to say it too loud,” warned 
Clarissa, as she saw that Sally was ready to 
comply with the request. “ Be careful.” 

“Why ’tis this,” continued Sally in a stage 
whisper, which caused her friend some con¬ 
cern. “You’ve heard your father talk about 
Lord Grenville, haven’t you?” 

“ Of course I’ve heard about Lord Gren¬ 
ville,” answered Neltje. “ All Father’s friends 
who have visited him while he has had this bad 
attack of gout have talked about him and his 
taxes, whatever those are, and little else. I 
haven’t troubled myself much about him, Sally, 
to tell the truth, except to wish that those gen¬ 
tlemen would talk of something different. Such 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 17 

things make Father get excited and angry, and 
my only thought is how to quiet him and keep 
him from worrying when he is in such awful 
pain.” 

“ Other people besides your father are get¬ 
ting angry and excited, too,” quoth Sally, with 
a world of meaning in her dark eyes. “For 
now, with all else he has done, this same Lord 
Grenville is planning to raise huge sums of 
money for England by making us stamp every 
paper that is used in the Colonies.” 

“ What is the money for? ” asked Neltje. 

“Why, they say it is to help England pay 
what she has had to spend in the American 
Colonies, in fighting the Indians and their allies, 
the French; and in so keeping this land the new 
England that it is.” 

“And what is there wrong in that?” asked 
Neltje. “ It seems only right and just to me, 
when England has done that for us.” 

“’Tis not wrong in itself, Neltje,” broke in 
Clarissa, in subdued tones of her own. “ There 
are men right here in New York, like Mr. De- 
Lancey himself, who say that England has 
every right to take such measures, that she has 
borne the brunt of the fight, and that we are 


18 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

her colonies, and should help share all her bur¬ 
dens. ’Tis only the way in which it is done 
that angers people.” 

“My father says that we are free-blooded 
English ourselves, and that we should not be 
taxed for anything, unless each colony on these 
shores sends a representative to Parliament, to 
know what is going on there, and to help make 
the laws that govern us.” 

“So the cry: ‘ No taxation without represen¬ 
tation! ’ ” Sally burst forth, unable to contain 
herself any longer. 

“But the secret? — The secret, girls? Is 
this all you have to tell? ” asked Neltje, some¬ 
what disappointed. She had learned very little 
that was new or exciting from her visitors so 
far. 

This time Sally’s voice sank to a most mys¬ 
terious whisper. 

“Why, this morning as — ” But she went 
no further, for just at that moment there came 
the sound of a rather unsteady “ tap, tap ” of 
a cane on the floor of the hall below, and a sten¬ 
torian voice called: 

“Neltje! Neltje Van Dam! Where art 
thou? Here is the packet from Boston, ar- 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 19 

rived and moored, and thy mother almost at 
the door, and no daughter to welcome her! ” 

With a flying dart Neltje left her two friends 
with their wonderful secret still untold, and 
was downstairs and in the hall before her father 
reached the front door. 

When Clarissa and Sally came in, the upper 
half of that Dutch door had been left open, and 
now Neltje could see through it the tall figure 
of her mother and the top of her little sister’s 
head as the two came up the path. 

What a home-coming that was! Sally and 
Clarissa, standing shyly at the head of the stairs, 
saw Neltje almost devour with kisses the sweet¬ 
faced lady with the gentle voice, as well as the 
chubby, round-faced little girl who had been 
clinging to her hand. 

Master Van Dam gave his wife and daugh¬ 
ter a hearty welcome all his own; and black 
Drusilla, appearing from the kitchen at the 
sound of the happy voices, showed all her gleam¬ 
ing white teeth in her broadest smile. 

When the greetings were over, Augustus 
Van Dam tapped the floor somewhat impa¬ 
tiently with his cane. 

“Come now, Mother; come Ottolene,” said 


20 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

he. “ Do not delay here as though thou wert 
strangers in thine own house. Take off thy 
wraps, and let us all get in by the fire. The late 
afternoon is chill, and you will be weary with 
the long journey. Neltje promised that an 
early supper should be ready for thee when¬ 
ever thou shouldst reach home. The sooner 
we all settle down again to regular ways, the 
better.” 

“ Supper is all ready, isn’t it, Drusilla?” 
asked Neltje, her voice gurgling with joy. 

“Just ez soon ez you all’s ready,” answered 
the radiant Drusilla. 

Mistress Van Dam laid aside her bonnet and 
mantle, and the whole family moved towards 
the dining-room door. Ottolene clung to her 
father’s hand, quaintly and unconsciously copy¬ 
ing his limp as she walked beside him. Neltje 
hung on her mother’s arm as though she would 
never let her go out of her sight again. She 
forgot, in her excitement and happiness, that 
her tw'o friends were still standing on the land¬ 
ing at the head of the stairs. 

Mistress Van Dam spied the two figures, 
however. 

“Clarissa and Sally! What are you two 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 21 

girls doing up there, hiding like mice? Take 
off your things and come down and have supper 
with us.” 

“Oh, Mistress Van Dam! Do you really 
mean it? ” 

“ Indeed I do. Come without delay girls, 
and then we will not keep Drusilla’s good meal 
waiting and perhaps spoiling in the oven.” 

The girls did not need a second invitation, 
nor did it take them many minutes to prepare 
themselves to go downstairs. 

“We’ll hear all the news from Boston,” de¬ 
clared Sally. “ Clarissa, I wonder if they have 
it there? ” 

“Do be careful, Sally,” begged the latter. 
“ Something tells me we must not speak too 
freely about such things as these.” 

“ Thou art getting so old thou art cautious,” 
teased Sally, imitating Master Van Dam, and 
with her brown eyes sparkling as they always 
did when Clarissa became very demure. 

“Sally! What manners you have! Mak¬ 
ing fun of a person who is your host. When 
will you learn to behave? ” 

“ Perhaps when I am sixteen, or rather, when 
I am as old as you are, my dear,” came the an- 


22 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

swer, and Sally pulled her friend down through 
the hall to the dining-room. 

Sally was just Neltje’s age, between fourteen 
and fifteen years old; and as she and Clarissa 
entered the dining-room, they set to work at 
once to help with the preparations for supper. 
The three girls set the long polished table in 
the middle of the room, while Drusilla gave 
her savory dishes their finishing touches, as 
she took them smoking from the round Dutch 
oven. 

There were two great fowls browned to a 
turn, cakes of raised dough, currant jelly, 
spices, and rich pastries. The table was loaded 
as they all took their places around it; and the 
light from the candles, which Neltje had set 
on the sideboard and on the table, shone with 
the afterglow of the sunset upon six happy 
faces. 

“ The packet made good time,” began Mis¬ 
tress Van Dam, as soon as they were seated. 
She knew the circle was anxious to hear all the 
news of the trip. “ It was late in leaving Bos¬ 
ton, but the wind was with us, and whatever 
time was lost in starting we made up on the 
way.” 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 23 

“ What caused the delay at the first? ” asked 
her husband, helping each one at the table 
plentifully to everything in sight, and beaming 
upon his reunited household with infinite de¬ 
light. 

“ There are troublous times in that town, 
even as there are here, Augustus,” answered his 
wife. 

“ Tut, tut,” exclaimed her husband. “ Let 
us put troubles aside, I pray thee, when we have 
a chance to enjoy peace and comfort like this. 
Tell of thy pleasures, wife, and give Neltje, 
here, an inkling of what furbelows thou hast 
brought to her.” 

Mistress Van Dam cheerfully answered her 
husband’s plea. 

“ I brought you a scarlet kirtle, Neltje, and 
a lace kerchief, and a little ivory fan, all of 
which you shall have after supper, when I un¬ 
pack my belongings.” 

“ Oh-h,” breathed the older girls. The two 
visitors loved Mistress Van Dam dearly; but 
there was a grave look on her face, and all three, 
Neltje, Clarissa, and Sally, saw it and won¬ 
dered. 

“ ’Tis not hard to see what Ottolene’s parting 


24 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

gift from Mistress Henshaw was,” continued 
the lady. “She has hugged that dolly night 
and day since it came to her.” 

“ For thee, Augustus, I brought a new kind 
of spade to dig around the garden with, when 
your foot is better. Pompey will bring it up 
from the packet in the morning with the trunk. 
For Drusilla, I brought an orange and red 
handkerchief. But Augustus, apart from our 
pleasure during the visit and on the trip, I heard 
many things; things that all thoughtful men 
and women must know. To begin: the Bos¬ 
tonians are enraged to a fury over this taxing 
of the Colonies by England, by means of 
stamped paper.” 

The three girls looked at one another, but 
said nothing. They waited for Neltje’s mother 
to continue. 

“And,” went on the lady, “wherever you 
meet people, on the street or in their homes, 
they talk of little else but of the monstrous 
way in which England is treating us. Hast 
heard her latest demands, Augustus?” 

“ I know well she is overbearing and un¬ 
reasonable,” answered her husband. “ But ’tis 
much better, methinks, to submit to a few things, 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 25 

even though they cause some discomfort, and, 
in the meantime, to send our hands a little 
farther into our pockets than usual, than to be 
ever disturbed and anxious, and so lose all the 
peace from our lives. Thou sayest I should 
hear, good wife.” Augustus waxed warmer to 
the subject as he talked. “ I do hear, let me 
tell thee, whenever I walk our streets; when¬ 
ever I step into store or tavern; whenever men 
meet together; that England does this and Eng¬ 
land does that. That she says we may not trade 
with this country and with that country; and 
that we may not people this land beyond the 
Alleghany Mountains, and so on and so on. 
But always there is more talk about such things 
than is real. I doubt me that this heavy taxing 
will ever come to pass; and if it does, then when 
it does will be time enough to worry about it.” 

Master Van Dam pushed his chair back from 
the table and reached for his pipe. His wife 
had been away from home for a month, and in 
that time speculations over these very ques¬ 
tions had reached fever height in New York 
as well as in Boston. He had listened to the 
arguments for and against the policy that Eng¬ 
land had adopted in her treatment of the Ameri- 


26 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

can Colonies; but he had resolutely endeavored 
not to take these matters too seriously. He 
could not have the peace of mind and living, 
which he valued so greatly, destroyed. He had 
hoped that his wife would bring home ideas 
that were quite new, and would divert him from 
this ever present subject. 

Mistress Van Dam’s quick eye caught the 
expression of disappointment on her husband’s 
face, and at sight of it she turned to more pleas¬ 
ant topics. 

“ But I have saved the best news for the last,” 
she said. “ And it has nothing whatever to do 
with affairs of the Colonies. So draw not away 
from the table, Augustus. I know thou wilt be 
pleased with what I have to tell. You remem¬ 
ber Eliza Cogswell, who was married a little 
time before ourselves?” 

“ Indeed I remember her,” came the reply. 
“ But she has been gone from our midst these 
eighteen years. She married David Henry of 
South Carolina, if I mistake not.” 

“Exactly so. And a month ago I could 
have told nothing but that about her. Now I 
know that she and her husband have gone where 
no trouble is; but their son, David Henry, a fine 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 27 

boy of fifteen, I found attending school in Bos¬ 
ton.” 

“ I seemed to be a welcome sight as a friend 
of his mother’s, and he took to our Ottolene as 
though she were his own sister. And Augus¬ 
tus ; I trust thou wilt not mind. I invited the 
young David to come and spend the summer 
with us here in New York.” 

“Good!” ejaculated Master Van Dam. 
Here was something, indeed, that delighted his 
hospitable soul. 

There were other people in that room who 
were pleased, too. Sally and Clarissa were 
leaning forward, trying not to appear too eager 
for good manners, and Neltje’s eyes were 
gleaming. 

“What does he look like, Mother?” 

“ He seems a likely boy, with a high spirit 
and keen intelligence. He talked very learn¬ 
edly about affairs with England; and young as 
he is, he has very decided ideas in that quarter. 
He thinks we should resist with all our power 
everything like the stamp taxation. Moreover, 
he is a member of a certain band in Boston, 
called the ‘Sons of Liberty’.” 

Sally Lansing could not contain herself any 


28 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

longer. “Mistress Van Dam! I may tell a 
secret here, may I not? ” 

“ Why, of course, my dear. We are all 
friends together.” 

Clarissa listened, but said nothing; and it was 
Neltje’s turn to lean forward eagerly as Sally 
spoke in a low, excited tone. 

“ Hugh Johnson and the two Paulding boys 
and Herbert Van Wyck have all told me about 
that; — that the young men in the Colonies are 
forming themselves into a band that the British 
are not to know about. And they say they are 
going to resist these unfair things that England 
plans to do, until they stop doing them alto¬ 
gether. Or, if they do not stop, they’re going 
to fight.” 

“ What is that? ” thundered the master of the 
house, putting down the mug of frothy ale which 
had been half way to his lips, and gazing at 
Sally’s burning cheeks. “What do such up¬ 
starts as those boys know about what is going 
on ? And what is it for them to take things into 
their own hands in that fashion? ” 

“ I think they know a great deal about things, 
from all I hear them say, Master Van Dam,” 
answered Sally, her chin in the air. “The 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 29 

British are getting very high and mighty in the 
Colonies, and I will say it, even though my own 
dear father was English born. After all, this 
is a land by itself. It’s our land; and these 
young men think we should be free to make our 
own laws on our own soil. That is why they 
call themselves by that name — the ‘Sons of 
Liberty 

Augustus Van Dam looked steadfastly be¬ 
fore him, gazing into space. 

“ That is good reasoning for young and old,” 
he said at last, very quietly. 

When supper was over, and while Drusilla 
removed the things from the table, Mistress 
Van Dam did a little unpacking. She brought 
forth from her big bag the presents of which 
she had spoken, as well as a bright little kerchief 
each for Clarissa and Sally. 

The girls tucked these away in their bodices 
with great delight. But there was a topic of 
which they wished to know a great deal more. 

“ Tell us more about David Henry,” begged 
all three. 

“ He is a lad who has had too much that is 
serious fall to his share. When his face lights 
with a smile, one can imagine the fun that lies 



30 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

behind that grave countenance. But evidently 
he has spent most of his time studying and talk¬ 
ing with people older than himself. You girls 
must all try to have a cheering effect upon his 
quiet ways. You must have him meet all of 
your gay friends.” 

“Oh, we will!” fervently exclaimed Neltje. 

“ I wonder if he will tell us about the Sons 
of Liberty in Boston,” said Sally. “ He’d be 
about the age of the boys that are joining here.” 

“ Older men have joined with the band, too,” 
announced Clarissa. 

“ One must not tell all one knows about such 
things as that,” cautioned Mistress Van Dam. 
“ Girls, let me tell you something. One of the 
first things a woman must learn to do in times 
like these is to guard her tongue. ’Tis the men 
who take the action, and too little is left for us 
but talk. ’Tis well to form the habit of being 
cautious. I am free to say, however, that it is 
common talk in Boston that no less a person 
than Mr. Adams, of whom you have all heard, 
attended one of the Sons of Liberty meetings in 
his own town the other day. At that same meet¬ 
ing, I heard, there were present a sea captain, 
four of the merchants of Boston, and a printer. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 31 

So that sounds as if Clarissa is right in thinking 
that older and more thoughtful men than these 
younger ones belong to the band, too.” 

Near the end of June, another packet came 
sailing to New York from Boston. As it drew 
near the Battery and Bowling Green, a young 
man of fifteen years stood in the fore of the 
vessel, his gaze stretching eagerly to the shores 
of the city of which he had heard so much, and 
which now lay bathed in the summer sunlight. 

David Henry was slight and tall, and Mis¬ 
tress Van Dam had described him well; but 
now, the serious expression upon his face had 
entirely disappeared. He smiled to himself, 
as though something long desired had come to 
him. When, finally, the craft was moored 
firmly to her holdings; when he had actually set 
foot upon the shore, and stood in the shadow of 
Fort George and its batteries; when he looked 
across the Bowling Green and up Broadway; 
then, for a moment, he forgot all about Mistress 
Van Dam and chubby Ottolene, who had so 
charmed his fancy two months ago, and whom 
he had expected to meet him upon his arrival in 
New York. 


32 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

His mind was filled with wonder as he sought 
to reconcile the ideas that he had formed of this 
city with the reality of its shores. He was 
measuring with his very accurate eyes the Fort, 
sheltered on its landward side by high ground, 
and pointing its one hundred and twenty guns 
out towards the harbor. It seemed to him 
that that harbor was the most beautiful thing 
he had ever seen. 

“ Suppose these colonies formed a country all 
by itself,” ran the thoughts of the boy, as he 
stood gazing out to sea. “And suppose this 
harbor was the door to it all. And suppose 
we made our own laws, and tried different ways 
of living — and — had great manufactures — 
and — ships — and — ” 

The keen blue eyes looked over the blue water 
until they met the blue sky; — “ and a flag of our 
own.” 

“Is this David Henry?” 

The boy turned with a start. The voice that 
had sounded behind him was rather peremp¬ 
tory. As he turned, he saw a heavily built man 
leaning on a cane; and he saw, also, a warm 
genial countenance beaming down upon him 
with as kindly a smile as he had ever known. 








“The Pursuit of Happiness” 33 

“ Is this David Henry?” came the question 
again. 

“ I am David Henry, sir,” answered the boy, 
holding out his hand. 

“Well, my boy, then thou art the one we 
have been looking for, and right glad am I to see 
you. The mistress thought you might like 
one of your own kind to come and meet you, 
and I question not she thought, mayhap, the 
walk would help my lame foot.” 

“ I trust it will, sir,” answered David, looking 
at the cane. “And Ottolene? Where is Ot- 
tolene? She promised she would be here to 
meet me and give me welcome when I came to 
New York.” 

Ottolene’s father’s face gleamed with delight. 

“ ’Tis that bad girl’s punishment that she is 
kept at home this morning. She found the 
brown sugar jar and helped herself; whereat 
her mother put her in a closet with the jar and 
bade her finish the sweet stuff, thinking thus 
to cure her for all time. When the closet door 
was opened, she had finished it, and asked for 
more! ” 

The big man’s sides shook with laughter, and 
David joined in the merriment. 


34 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“ I hope she suffered no ill effects, sir.” 

“ Not one in the least. She is as hearty and 
well as ever, and not over showing her disap¬ 
pointment at not coming with me to meet you. 
She keeps her peace of mind does that baby, 
I can tell you.” 

“ But, Father! You’re forgetting all about 
me.” 

From somewhere behind the bulky figure 
came the sweetest voice David had ever heard; 
and as her father stepped aside at its sound, 
he caught sight of the smiling Nelt je. With her 
blue dress, her white kerchief, her golden hair, 
and her big blue eyes, she seemed the embodi¬ 
ment of this happy shore; hers was the spirit of 
the sky and the sea and the gulls and the sun¬ 
light. 

“ This is my other daughter,” said her father, 
putting his arm around the girl. “And on 
God’s earth there never walked a sweeter maid. 
This, child, is David Henry. Now shall we 
start for home? Mother will be watching for 
us.” 

David placed himself on one side of Neltje, 
while she held her father’s hand on the other; and 
together the three walked up Broadway be- 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 35 

tween the double rows of shade trees that 
guarded the comfortable homes of the neigh¬ 
borhood. 

“New York is certainly a charming spot,” 
David told himself. 


CHAPTER II 


“ Are you related to Patrick Henry, David ? ” 

Nearly five years had passed since the young 
man from Boston had first set foot upon the 
soil of New York. David was almost twenty 
. years old now; and Ottolene, who asked the 
question, was ten. 

She was taller and older, of course, than when 
David had first seen her, but her round face 
and her big eyes, in color like her sister’s, had 
never failed to charm him with their quaintness 
and gravity. 

“ No, I am not related to Patrick Henry at 
all,” he replied. “ Unless some ancestor back in 
some country of the old world belongs to us 
both.” 

“Tell me about him,” begged the little girl. 

“ But I told you about him only last night.” 

“ Well, tell it again. Please! I like to hear 
it. Tell it right from the beginning.” 

David began obediently: 

“ The Stamp Act, which placed a tax on all 

36 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 37 

papers used in the Colonies, became a law in 
17G5; and the following March, Patrick Henry, 
who was a member of the House of Burgesses 
in Virginia, introduced resolutions in that 
House, denouncing the right of England to 
adopt such a policy of taxing America. At 
this meeting—” 

“Now — now David — let me tell the rest.” 

Ottolene interrupted the tale without cere¬ 
mony, and the young man listened, amused 
and delighted at the excited little face trying 
to assume an expression of great solemnity, 
while the childish voice proclaimed: 

“At this meeting Patrick Henry said: 
4 Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First his 
Cromwell; and George the Third — ’ and then 
the other people called out 'Treason! Trea¬ 
son ! 5 because they thought he meant that some¬ 
one was going to kill the King of Eng¬ 
land; and Patrick Henry just said, 4 may profit 
by their example.’ And then the meeting went 
on and on, and they talked about England not 
letting us do what we want to; and then Patrick 
Henry said: 4 1 care not what others may say, 
but as for me, give me Liberty or give me 
Death.’ Is that right, David?” 




38 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“Just as right as it can be, in substance and 
in letter, my friend.” 

“ What dost thou mean by that long word? ” 
asked the little girl. But she was obliged to 
forego any more fascinating conversation with 
David for the present; for just at this moment 
steps were heard outside the door that opened 
upon the back piazza, and her father appeared. 
As usual, Ottolene sprang to meet him. 

Augustus Van Dam had not changed much in 
face or figure in the five years just passed. But 
his cane was gone now; the gout seemed to have 
disappeared, and the expression of dogged de¬ 
termination, which had always been a prime 
characteristic of the man, had deepened in every 
shade of emotion on his face and in every ges¬ 
ture of his hand. 

“ In spite of all our trouble and worry, civili¬ 
zation is going forward,” said he, catching sight 
of David. “ This wooden piping for the city 
water is a great success.” 

“ I am glad of that, Master Van Dam,” an¬ 
swered the young man. He carefully re¬ 
frained from saying anything more on this sub¬ 
ject, for not so very long ago there had been 
a ripe battle of words between Augustus and 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 39 

some of the city fathers, as to whether the 
wooden pipes which were a new invention for 
carrying water to different parts of the town 
should or should not be laid within the precincts 
of his beloved garden. 

Urged and finally persuaded by his sensible 
wife, he had finally given his grudging consent 
to the work being done. And lo and behold! 
The pear trees had blossomed as usual in the 
spring; the grape-vines had sprouted, and 
bunches of these purple treasures had hung in 
wealth from the vines in the autumn; the flowers 
had spread their glad array along the paths; 
all in the face of the fact that the pipes had been 
laid. And now, even this doughty champion 
of the good old times was willing to admit the 
convenience of having water pumped directly 
to one’s door. 

“ Civilization is going forward,” repeated the 
master of the house, seating himself in his usual 
place by the fire. “ And why, David, may we 
not be allowed to enjoy in peace all the wonder¬ 
ful comforts which men’s minds are working 
out for us, on the soil which is our own? ” 

“ That question stands first in the minds of 
thinking men to-day, Master Van Dam; and, 


40 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

if I am not mistaken, it is going to be answered 
very definitely before long.” 

“ I am right glad to talk with you this morn¬ 
ing, David. The town is rife with murmurs 
and uprisings. It seems there has never been 
real quiet in our streets since the Stamp Act 
riots.” 

“What dost thou think now of these im¬ 
postors from overseas meddling more and more 
with our affairs? Nay, — ” Master Van Dam 
corrected himself — “ I know what thou think- 
est. But what are we going to do, is the ques¬ 
tion. You with your young blood think quicker 
than old fogies like me.” 

“Neither quicker nor as well, sir; of that I 
am sure. But since you ask me, I consider that 
things have come to an unpardonable pass in 
our quarters, and especially in the matter of 
this tax on tea.” 

“ What dost thou think can be done about it ? ” 

David drew from his pocket a neatly folded 
paper, upon which he had evidently copied some¬ 
thing. 

“ Master Van Dam, you spoke a moment ago 
of the riots in the streets of New York, when 
this Colony in union with all the others refused 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 41 

the burden of the Stamp Act. You know well 
what happened.” 

Augustus Van Dam looked at the young 
man curiously, for there was a strange veiled 
tone in his voice. 

“ Indeed I remember. You Sons of Liberty 
surely disturbed the peace of our town; but 
even though many of those who started the riots 
were rough and uncouth men and boys, they 
were in the right, David. I never questioned 
that — they were in the perfect right.” 

“ I know we were,” replied David with a 
gleam in his eye. “New York and the other 
colonies resisted; and we won. We won in the 
matter of all taxation, Master Van Dam, ex¬ 
cept in the case of the tax on tea. And it is 
generally believed,” — here David’s face grew 
stern and his voice rose with a decision that made 
Ottolene open her eyes in wonder. “And I 
believe it is as true as God’s word that that 
duty has not been retained as revenue, but as 
an expression of the right of England to tax 
America.” 

The young man’s eyes were flashing now. 

“It is reported,” he continued, “that it was 
said recently in Parliament that without that 



42 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

right to tax the people of these Colonies, sov¬ 
ereignty would be an empty phrase.” 

“ Scoundrels! Puppets! ” sputtered Augus¬ 
tus Van Dam, stamping his foot and searching 
his vocabulary in vain for words to express his 
rage and indignation. 

“ I am told that there are men in England 
with thought like our own,” continued David, 
“ who have taken up our cause in the debates, 
and have pleaded that we of these Colonies in a 
new land are free Englishmen, even as them¬ 
selves, and should be treated as such. But they 
seem to have little voice in the matter.” 

“What can we do?” asked little Ottolene 
anxiously. 

Her father put his arm around her and drew 
her to his knee. David smiled at the anxious 
face, but went right on with the topic which was 
absorbing his very soul. 

“But there are wise and far-seeing men in 
our own Colonies; and they will make their 
voices heard. See what I have here.” 

David unfolded the paper he had taken from 
his pocket a moment before. 

“Whence came that and what is it?” asked 
the older man. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 43 

“ It is a copy of the letter which Mr. Samuel 
Adams and other gentlemen of Boston have 
sent to all the towns in our Colonies. These gen¬ 
tlemen have been holding meetings in Faneuil 
Hall, to discuss just these matters, and — ” 

“But out with it! Out with it boy!” inter¬ 
rupted Master Van Dam impatiently. “ Bead 
me what is written there, I ask thee, without de¬ 
lay." 

David began: 

Brethren, we are reduced to this dilemma; 
either to sit down quietly under this and every 
other burden that our enemies shall see fit to lay 
upon us, or to rise up and resist this and every 
plan laid for our destruction, as becomes wise 
freemen. In this extremity, we earnestly re¬ 
quest your advice.’ ” 

“ And what has New York done? ” demanded 
Master Van Dam. 

“New York has sent its firm approval, sir, 
and pledged itself to act in all ways for the 
maintenance of liberty in our land.” 

“ Thou meanest part of New York,” objected 
his listener. “ Think thou of the English bred 
and born here and now holding sway in this 
city, instead of the peaceful Dutch.” 



44 “The Pursuit of Happiness ” 

“ I do not mean the English Governor, nor 
the British troops, nor the sympathizers with 
the tyrannical rule of England. I mean, sir, 
the Sons of Liberty, in whatever walks of life 
they may be found.” 

“And thank God for such,” answered Au¬ 
gustus Van Dam devoutly. “I understand. 
And now, David, I must be getting across town 
to the counting-house.” 

“And I to my studies,” said David, putting 
the precious piece of paper in his pocket again. 

He went out of the dining-room door, through 
the garden, and around the front of the house 
to Broadway. He was in plenty of time to 
meet the grave man at King’s College who was 
guiding him in his law studies; but he wanted to 
get out in the crisp November air. He must 
have action when his mind was seething with 
ideas like those contained in the message from 
Boston, as well as in the conversation of every 
man and boy with whom he talked. 

“Rise up and resist!” 

That was what the angry tumult of the street 
and the wise quiet counsel of thoughtful men 
agreed upon. This was what was coming in¬ 
deed; but when, and by whom? 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 45 

They had been five happy years that David 
had spent in New York. That invitation to 
come to the Van Dam home for a visit, given 
in Boston to the lonely schoolboy, had proved 
to be a turning-point in his life; and the sum¬ 
mer spent in the city had been so agreeable to 
all concerned that it had resulted in a second 
invitation for him to make his home with the 
family he had learned to love so well. 

They had been five momentous years, too. 

In addition to all the parties and the picnics 
and the dances and the merrymakings, the 
young man had diligently followed his course 
at King’s College. His studies had been chiefly 
in Latin and Greek, history, and mathematics; 
and through his knowledge of the lore of an¬ 
cient days, the sensitive boy had come to under¬ 
stand the restless and determined spirit which 
was making its presence known with mighty 
throbs in this bright city, and, from all he could 
learn, in Boston and the other American colo¬ 
nies. 

The topic of the stamps, which the British 
Parliament had decreed should be placed on 
every paper used in the Colonies, had been the 
final touch to the long smouldering fires of rage 


46 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

in the hearts of the Colonists; of rage and resent¬ 
ment at the manner in which they had been 
treated by England. The Stamp Act had be¬ 
come a law in the Colonies in March, 1765. 

The Sons of Liberty in New York, into whose 
ranks David had been received as soon as his 
presence in the town had become known, left 
no move unmade to keep these fires burning 
with ever deepening intensity. 

They were hot-headed boys; too hot-headed, 
many of them, exactly to suit David’s gentler 
judgment of things; but they were one with 
many older and wiser men of the day, who, in 
courteous but no uncertain terms, made it 
known to Parliament that “ they demanded the 
rights of Englishmen, and if they were op¬ 
pressed they would rebel and try to get better 
terms from some other power.” 

General Gage, in command of the troops sta¬ 
tioned in the Colonies for their protection, had 
his headquarters in New York. Perhaps the 
great harbor decided this policy; perhaps the 
Tory atmosphere of the Dutch town, now — as 
many would insist — settled comfortably under 
British dominion, made New York a pleasanter 
place for the English General to live in, than 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 47 

did tempestuous, fiery, yet withal, more puri¬ 
tanical Boston. At any rate, here were his 
headquarters, and here he observed a seething, 
angry, rebellious spirit among the citizens of 
the New World. 

When the demand for the rights enjoyed by 
Englishmen came to his ears he traced its source 
to many of his own friends and acquaintances, 
who were among the most fair-minded men in 
the town; and he felt that it was quite time to 
prepare for this unseen but powerful force that 
gripped the minds of the populace with an in¬ 
fluence that might soon be uncontrollable. 

Out in New York Harbor lay the British 
ship Coventry . 

General Gage begged her Captain for a force 
of soldiers to patrol the water-front of the city; 
after which, he and Lieutenant Governor 
Colden, the acting executive of New York, held 
several conferences together, the result of which 
was an extra battalion of men at Fort George. 

Preparations like these went on all through 
the summer following the enactment of the 
Stamp Act; and by the first of September, the 
General and his advisers had congratulated 
themselves that the city was safe, or at least 


48 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

properly guarded against uprisings of discon¬ 
tent such as were going on all through the 
country. 

They rejoiced among themselves, these gen¬ 
tlemen; but always in private. Colonists were 
ever troublesome, and these brothers of theirs 
on the new soil were more so than any England 
had ever known. They were rebellious, self- 
willed children; they must be treated as such, 
and what they did and said must be ignored as 
far as possible. 

Nevertheless, it was well to keep an eye open 
to all that was being done. Some things were 
not so childish after all. British rule was not 
respected as it should be in New York, and 
elsewhere in America, men in authority de¬ 
clared among themselves with great emphasis. 
Had not a pamphlet, bearing the odious and in¬ 
sulting name of “Constitutional Courant” and 
seriously attacking the rule of England on these 
shores, been hawked through the streets of New 
York by the ruffians called the “ Sons of Lib¬ 
erty ”? 

They would have patience though, General 
Gage declared. “ Give a man rope enough 
and he will hang himself.” 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 49 

However, when no less a person than Mr. 
James Otis of Boston suggested to the Massa¬ 
chusetts Assembly that the Colonists unite in 
sending representatives in committees to meet 
together in a so-called Colonial Congress to con¬ 
sider the new acts of Parliament, then did the 
red-coated general and the Tory officials knit 
their brows. 

Plans for the first meeting of this “ Colonial 
Congress ” were made. The date and the place 
of meeting were actually set — the first Tues¬ 
day in October in the Town Hall in New York. 
There was more knitting of brows. 

Mr. Otis and two of his friends came to the 
meeting as the representatives from Massa¬ 
chusetts. Others arrived from every one of 
the thirteen colonies. New York, instead of 
being represented by members of a street mob, 
as the British had predicted, sent to the Stamp 
Act Congress, as it came to be called, Mr. John 
Cruger, the Mayor of the town, Mr. Leonard 
Lispenard, Mr. William Bayard, and two of 
the Livingston family, Philip and Robert. 

“Gentleman all,” Augustus Van Dam had 
announced with great satisfaction, when he 
heard these names. 


SO “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

General Gage was obliged to do some more 
thinking. The rope had not even begun to do 
its work. Perhaps the British authorities had 
provided too long a length. But there were 
other sides of the question to be considered. 

The Stamp Act Congress sat in deliberation 
for three weeks. Meanwhile, outside the Town 
Hall, there surged a wave of sentiment which 
did not use deliberate counsel as a weapon. 

While Mr. Cruger, the Livingstons, and 
others were drawing up, in as courteous terms 
as they knew, their protest to England against 
unfair taxation of the American Colonies, the 
Tory Council was having daily meetings to 
decide the knotty question of how the great 
cargoes of stamps from England were to be 
unloaded and landed in sight of the angry 
populace of the city. It was finally decided 
that the sloop that ran occasionally from New 
York to Albany, and which was now in the 
harbor, should be used to carry the stamps by 
night from the British ships to the safety of 
Fort George. 

And then had followed the famous Stamp 
Act riots, of which David and Master Van 
Dam had talked together. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 51 

The flags in the city had been pulled down to 
half-mast, and the town had been papered with 
threatening posters, which read: 

PRO PATRlA 

The first man who either distributes or 

MAKES USE OF STAMPT PAPER, LET HIM TAKE 
CARE OF HIS HOUSE^ PERSON, AND EFFECTS. 

VOX POPULI 

WE DARE. 

At the same time, the very backgammon 
boxes in the Merchant’s Coffee House were 
covered with black cloth and the dice were 
wrapped in small pieces of crape — all as a sign 
of mourning for the death of Liberty. 

None knew better than David Henry whose 
active brains and eager hands were responsible 
for such acts as these. Many an hour he had 
spent when he first came to New York, loung¬ 
ing around on the wharves and lolling in the 
shops, talking to the young tradesmen and 
mechanics and sailors. These last heard many 
things of vital interest, as the merchant ships 
came and went from the islands of the East 
Indies. They became acquainted with secrets 



52 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

of England’s trade, and with the laws under 
which her seamen were bound to do their work. 

Many ideas as to how best to resist the Stamp 
Act decision were not those which David would 
have adopted as his own. But he listened to 
them all; and the young men listened to him 
eagerly, whenever he volunteered an opinion. 

He and the Morton twins, James and 
Richard, and Herbert Van Wyck and many 
others of their particular set had toiled dili¬ 
gently, setting up tall staffs, which they called 
“ Liberty Poles,” in different parts of the city. 

“ They are well named,” David had said. 
“A straight pole reaching up to God and the 
boundless sky is a fitting symbol of human 
liberty.” 

A few had laughed at these words, but many 
more had agreed, for David Henry had given 
voice to what they felt but could not say. 

Finally, the fifth great pole was in place. 
It was a huge mast, bound with iron bands and 
planted firmly in a deep hole. 

“ It will stand for generations!” Herbert 
Van Wyck had exclaimed, as they finished their 
work of setting it up. 

But he was mistaken. The watchful eyes 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” S3 

of the British soldiers had marked well that 
prince of poles, standing for rebellion against 
the land they served; and with ruthless hands 
they pulled it to earth and completely destroyed 
it. 

Then the fiery blood of the Sons of Liberty 
boiled. They had gathered together three 
hundred men from all quarters of the city, had 
borne down upon the soldiers who had de¬ 
stroyed the symbol of their thought, and had 
led them captive to the mayor’s office. 

Here David Henry, with full confidence in 
his own speech, had meant to plead the cause 
of liberty and to express some of the ideas which 
were rooted in his soul. But the British had 
no fancy for listening to youths berate the 
decrees of England; and twenty redcoats had 
forced themselves upon the little group who 
had captured their comrades-in-arms. This 
encounter had taken place on the eminence that 
was called Golden Hill because of the views of 
the sunset which could be obtained from the 
spot. But all thoughts of peace fled from the 
place, as the officers from Fort George freed 
their captive brethren with drawn swords. 
Blood had been shed on that little hill. Those 


54 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

men, defending their rights to raise the symbol 
of freedom, had been wounded — wounded for 
defending the cause of Liberty. 

Again and again David Henry had lived over 
these scenes in conversation with his friends. 
Similar events had taken place all through the 
Colonies, and the officers appointed by the 
Crown to enforce the Stamp Act had lived in 
terror of their lives. The odious edict had 
been withdrawn at last, but the tax on tea 
remained. 

“ The principle is the same, be the tax great 
or small,” David had heard older men argue. 
And now that argument was growing more 
intense than had been that of the stamps, a few 
years before. 

David had walked swiftly, after leaving 
Ottolene and her father; and now he stood on 
the grounds of King’s College. The waves of 
the North River were silver gray in the pale 
November sunlight, while the Jersey shore, on 
the opposite side of the stream, was still bright 
with late autumn leaves. The brooding beauty 
of the land was in sharp contrast to the turbu¬ 
lent thoughts of its inhabitants. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness ” 55 

“ What is coming? ” David asked himself. 

“We cannot tell,” answered a voice close be¬ 
hind him, “ except that free men must fight for 
their rights and those of their countrymen, as 
Mr. Samuel Adams has said.” 

The young man, looking out over the river, 
had unconsciously spoken his thoughts aloud. 
Unknown to him, a second figure had appeared 
upon the scene, and now stood beside him. 

He turned at the sound of the voice, and 
looked upon a face that he had seen many times 
in and around the college, although he could 
not have called the newcomer by name. 

“You are David Henry, if I am not mis¬ 
taken, sir?” 

“ Yes, I am,” answered David, facing a slight 
boyish figure. “And I have seen you more 
than once at King’s College, but I have not the 
honor of knowing your name.” 

“ My name is Alexander Hamilton,” came 
the answer, in the voice which, from that time 
on, never failed to thrill David with its pene¬ 
trating charm. 

“Oh,” exclaimed the latter. “Alexander 
Hamilton from the West Indies! Master Van 
Dam said he saw you the other day at Liberty 


56 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

Hall, when he and Mr. Van Rensselaer went 
over to Elizabeth, to have a conference with 
Mr. Livingston.” 

“ That sounds very much as if you know who 
I am,” said the young man, with a smile. 
“ When I first came to this land, Mr. Cruger, 
with whom I was working on the islands, gave 
me a letter of introduction to Mr. Livingston, 
for which I can never cease to thank him. His 
charming house has been like a home to me; but 
more than that — more than the peace and 
pleasure of the Hall — are the people one meets 
there, and the things one learns by simply 
listening to the conversation that takes place 
in that house.” 

“It is a famous meeting-place for famous 
minds,” agreed David. He had attended 
several dances at Liberty Hall, the home of the 
Livingstons, with other members of his young 
set. 

“For instance,” continued Hamilton, with 
his gentle but fascinating enthusiasm, “there 
is Mr. John Jay, a lawyer. To be sure, it is 
agreed on all hands that he comes there courting 
the lovely Sarah Livingston; nevertheless, he 
has the mental map of the world spread out be- 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 57 

fore him; and the ideals he holds out continually 
for the Colonies in their struggles with Eng¬ 
land — why, they are like a white flame of fire! ” 

“Mr. Jay,” echoed David, “is one of the 
greatest of our Americans. If only he and 
others like him were free to set up a govern¬ 
ment of their own, here in their own land! — 
But tell me,” he continued, breaking off into a 
lighter tone, “you say he is courting Sally 
Livingston? That will be a choice piece of 
gossip for our girls. I will tell them as soon as 
they come home.” 

“Who are your girls, and where have they 
been?” asked Alexander Hamilton, keenly in¬ 
terested. 

“Neltje Van Dam, Clarissa Morton, and 
Sally Lansing have been spending two weeks 
in Connecticut with the Hales,” explained 
David. Then, for a few moments, the con¬ 
versation of the two young men lingered upon 
the topic of the social possibilities of the coming 
winter. Soon, however, they reverted to the 
subject that was uppermost in all men’s minds. 

“What were you thinking of when I came 
upon you, David Henry?” asked Hamilton, 
laying a hand confidingly on David’s arm. 



58 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“ I was asking myself what was coming to us 
and to our country,” was the blunt reply. 
“ Alexander Hamilton! Things cannot go on 
as they are. You know it as well as I. And 
what is going to be the outcome, unless it is 
war? 

The younger man did not answer at once; 
and when he did speak, his words sounded as if 
he had weighed every one of them before utter¬ 
ing them. 

“ I am convinced that there is no other alter¬ 
native, unless England changes her policy 
towards these American Colonies, to a very 
marked degree. Moreover, from all I hear, 
these men of finely tempered minds, although 
they declare it should be a last resort, believe 
that war is imminent.” 

“ I have seen you, David Henry,” continued 
the young man, “ more times than you realize. 
And strange as it may seem, I had determined 
to make myself known to you to-day, to ask you 
if you would help me with a scheme of mine.” 

Hamilton’s face was serious as he spoke, but 
the grave look on David’s face vanished. 

“With anything, I promise you! But what 
can this scheme of yours be?” 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 59 

“It is no scholar’s dream or fancy, and no 
theory of law,” came the answer. 

“Tell me your plan, and I will help in any 
way I can.” 

“ There is no planning or talking or deciding 
to be done on this matter. It is to be,” an¬ 
swered Hamilton, with a decision and con¬ 
fidence which was remarkable in one so young. 
“ It is something to do. A certain number of 
us have formed together. Our purpose is to 
drill and to train ourselves as soldiers, and to 
be in readiness for war with England’s skilled 
troops, when that war comes. We begin to¬ 
morrow morning at seven o’clock. Will you 
join us at the Battery at that hour, and be one of 
our company?” 

“ I will be there without fail.” It was all 
that David seemed able to say, and the next 
moment the two young men had parted. 

So it was that the morning after the girls re¬ 
turned to New York from their visit to South 
Coventry, near Hartford, they looked out of 
their window to see the fascinating young 
Alexander Hamilton, of whose charms they had 
all heard, conducting a swift and decisive drill 
among a band of young New Yorkers on the 


/ 


60 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

Bowling Green. It was a thrilling sight to 
watch; yet it had its serious side, too. For 
David Henry was there, and many another that 
they knew, training for war. There was no 
denying the fact. 

“ They all talk of nothing but being soldiers, 
Mother,” said Neltje anxiously, later in the 
day, when Mistress Van Dam, her two daugh¬ 
ters, and Clarissa and Sally sat knitting by the 
roaring wood-fire. 

“I cannot get over Nathan Hale’s talking 
that way, and planning to lead a soldier’s life,” 
exclaimed Clarissa in turn. “ Why, Mistress 
Van Dam, he is nearly a clergyman in his 
tastes. And such a scholar! He ought to be 
president of one of our colleges some day; and 
there he is, studying the military life and 
making preparations for war, just as David 
seems to be doing to-day.” 

“ Clarissa left her heart in that big Con¬ 
necticut farmhouse of the Hales, let me tell 
you Mistress Van Dam,” broke in Sally. 
“ These gentle-mannered schoolmasters have 
to be watched.” 

“Hush, child!” came sternly from the lady 
of the house. “ Thou knowest thy mother 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 61 

would not approve such flippant talk, Sally, so 
why indulge in it so often? ” 

“ I am truly sorry,” answered the girl in a 
penitent voice; but her brown eyes sparkled so 
with mischief that Clarissa felt called upon to 
spring to her own defense. 

“ Sally’s tongue is like Minetta Brook for 
babbling all day long, Mistress Van Dam,” she 
exclaimed. “ She chattered on that subject 
all the way from Hartford to New York; and 
that in the face of the fact that Nathan Hale 
is already engaged to be married. So there!” 
And Clarissa looked up triumphantly over her 
knitting. 

Sally was a little nonplussed over this news; 
but nothing could really daunt any one of these 
three girls, who only knitted the faster as their 
tongues kept busy over affairs at home and 
abroad. 

Christmas was coming, and then the New 
Year; there were parties to be planned, 
presents to be bought, and new dresses to be 
made. Life was full to overflowing with 
things of interest to the three older girls. 
Little Ottolene, too, seated beside her mother, 
with her own small stocking well under way, 


62 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

occupied her little brain with dreams and 
fancies of her own contriving. 

Suddenly the door opened upon the cheerful 
scene, and the master of the house came in. 
Mistress Van Dam instantly laid down her 
work and went to meet her husband. 

“ Hast had a good day at the counting house, 
Augustus? ” she asked, drawing his chair up to 
its accustomed place, and setting his tobacco 
jar within easy reach. 

But the tall man did not so much as offer to 
remove his greatcoat, much less settle himself 
in the family circle, as was his wont. Instead, 
he remained standing in the middle of the floor. 

“ A good enough day, wife, as far as our own 
interests are concerned. Could we but be left 
to our own homes and our own affairs, there 
would be peace and happiness aplenty for all 
in this town. But these meddlers overseas — 
aye, and right at our doors — must needs stir up 
trouble again and again.” The tones of 
Augustus Van Dam’s voice rose with every 
syllable he uttered. “ One thing I forbid in 
this house! Mother! Neltje! Ottolene! 
And Drusilla! — Drusilla! Come here, I tell 
ye! I’ll not have so much as one dry tea-leaf 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 63 

under my roof, until this tax on tea is taken 
away.” 

“ Girls, remember that,” admonished their 
mother, her own cheeks flushed with excite¬ 
ment. “ ’Tis the little we can do to assert our 
independence as free Americans. Now rest 
thyself, Augustus, I beg thee, before supper is 
feady.” 

But the big man, for once, paid no attention 
to the advice of his wife. He was taking 
down from the wall the musket which had hung 
there as long as his daughters could remember. 

“ I have something to do ere supper time, 
good wife,” said he, and he went out into the 
garden. 


CHAPTER III 


“ The fight is coming, and I must be ready 
for it,” said Master Van Dam, an hour later, as 
he came into the room where his family were 
seated, and stood his musket in a corner. The 
firearm had been cleaned and polished, and was 
evidently ready for use. 

“ Art going to drill with David and Captain 
Hamilton, Father?” asked Ottolene. 

“Nay, child; not I. Such brilliant youth as 
that needs not the help of an old man like me. 
But by the morning light thou shalt see the 
target I have nailed to the old pear tree. 
Shooting at that will soon train thy father’s 
eye again. Mother can tell you girls I was 
a fair shot in the old days, and brought back 
many a bag of game from the woods on Long 
Island, when Neltje was but a baby.” 

Mistress Van Dam nodded in assent. This 
self-contained woman had suddenly found it 
impossible to speak. It seemed very natural 


64 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 65 

for the Mortons and the Van Wycks and that 
startling young Alexander Hamilton — even 
for David Henry — to drill and to talk of war. 
But Augustus — home-loving, peace-loving 
Augustus — engaging in target practice! To 
be ready for — what? 

Mistress Van Dam went hurriedly into the 
kitchen, to help Drusilla with the preparations 
for the evening meal. Clarissa and Sally had 
been invited to spend the afternoon and to stay 
for supper. Neltje had managed this, for 
both girls were eager to gain from David as 
much information as possible concerning Mr. 
Hamilton, who seemed to have captured the 
imagination of young and old. 

David had not come in at his accustomed 
time. The supper had been laid and the meal 
was progressing, with at least three pairs of 
ears alert for the sound of footsteps outside the 
door. 

Finally, all had finished. Augustus Van 
Dam had placed his empty mug for the last 
time on the table, and he and the others had 
folded up their napkins and had placed them 
in their small ivory rings. Still David’s chair 
remained empty. 




66 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“ I trust the boy is safe and well,” exclaimed 
the head of the house, rather anxiously. 

“Keep a plate of supper warm for Master 
David, Drusilla,” instructed Mistress Van 
Dam. 

“Yaas’m,” answered the faithful soul, who 
did not need to be reminded that this hero of 
hers might come home hungry. “ Hope Marse 
David’s all right,” she continued, as she began 
to clear the table. “ Thar’s been a powerful 
lot o’ commotion on Broadway to-night, Mis¬ 
tress Van Dam, — shoutin’ an hollerin’. Guess 
dem Sons o’ Liberty is at it again.” 

Her mistress rose from her chair at these 
words; but even as she did so, steps were 
heard on the back piazza, and she turned back 
just in time to see David enter the dining-room, 
more agitated than he had ever appeared before. 

His face was pale, and there was a strange 
gleam in his eye, as he ushered into the room 
a young man unknown to all but himself. 

“ This is Paul Revere of Boston,” he an¬ 
nounced simply. “ He has been sent to give a 
great message to the patriotic citizens of New 
York by word of mouth, as there was no time 
for printing a broadcast.” David’s measured 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 67 

and deliberate tones were indicative of the 
strain he was under. 

One might have heard the rustle of the leaves 
outside, so still was that room, as the young 
stranger stepped forward and repeated the 
words he had been bidden to carry from house 
to house. 

“ Boston has withstood the tyranny of the 
British tax on tea. Four days ago, fifty men, 
dressed as Mohawk Indians, crept down to 
Griffen’s Wharf. There lay the British 
merchant ships, loaded with tea about to be 
brought ashore for use in the colony of Mas¬ 
sachusetts and elsewhere. Swiftly and silently 
they did their work. Before the nine o’clock 
bell rang they had cut open three hundred and 
forty-two chests of tea, and had emptied them 
into the water.” 

With this final sentence, the despatch- 
bearer’s work was done at this particular New 
York home, and Paul Bevere turned on his 
heel and went out of the door, intent upon 
carrying the news to the ends of the city. 

For an instant silence reigned. Then 
Augustus Van Dam began to laugh. He 
laughed until the tears ran down his cheeks, at 


68 “The Pursuit of Happiness ” 

the very thought of what he had just heard. 
And soon the rest of the family joined in with 
him, scarcely knowing what they were doing, 
so excited they were. 

“ I wonder how tea tastes, mingled with salt,” 
exclaimed Master Van Dam, when he was able 
to speak; and then they all laughed again. 

Neltje was the first to quiet down. She 
talked less, perhaps, than any of her friends; 
but very little that went on escaped her active 
brain. She knew that word had been received 
from England, several weeks ago, that ships 
laden with tea were sailing for Boston, Charles¬ 
ton, and New York. Probably the same thing 
that had taken place in the New England city 
would happen here; but the British would be 
on a very careful lookout now, for their eyes 
were ever on the Sons of Liberty. 

But the sun shone brightly in New York. 
The holidays were on the way; and Neltje, who 
had been reared in the teaching that worry was 
a crime against one’s Maker and bespoke a lack 
of trust in his care, shut out of her mind the 
thought of what might happen, should the 
British attempt to land tea in New York. 

Nevertheless, in due time, that tea arrived. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 69 

One fair day the word went forth that the 
British ship Nancy was lying off Sandy Hook 
with the first cargo of India tea for the city. 

“ She has been followed closely by the 
LondonT announced David Henry when he 
came home that evening, bringing, as usual, the 
very latest news with him. 

“What if they try to land the tea?” ques¬ 
tioned Ottolene. 

“ The captain of the Nancy declares that he 
has no tea aboard,” answered David, with a 
smile; and eating a hurried bit of supper, he 
went out into the dark. 

“Oh, I must see what happens!” cried 
Neltje. 

“Stay,” warned Mistress Van Dam, as her 
two daughters sprang up from the table. 
“ This is no time for gentlefolk to be abroad. 
I have a feeling there will be riots in our streets 
to-night.” 

“ Mother, for once I do not agree with you,” 
exclaimed Augustus. “ ’Tis time we all saw 
and knew what is happening within our 
borders. All of you, get your bonnets as 
quickly as possible, and we will go down to the 
wharves.” 


70 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

Soon the four were being carried along 
Broadway with the throng that swarmed to the 
waterfront. As they came near, the girls 
caught sight of David. He was climbing out 
of a small boat, which had evidently been out to 
the London and had come ashore again. He 
was one of a small band of young men, who 
were now leading a Britisher along, peacefully 
enough, in the direction of Fraunce’s Tavern. 

Very soon this group returned from the inn. 

“ He admitted he had tea aboard.” 

“ The British Captain says there is tea on the 
vessel.” 

Assertions like these were coming from the 
crowd. 

In the meantime, the eyes of the throng were 
intent upon something in the harbor. David 
Henry, whom many of the people knew, with 
six other men, all older than himself, was pilot¬ 
ing the same small boat out towards the vessel 
again. The crowd on the shore watched tensely 
while those Americans pulled themselves over 
the side of the British ship, one by one. 

Then, in the silence, came a sudden sound: 
“Splash! Splash! Splash!” Into the 
waters of New York Harbor went the opened 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 71 

casks of tea, the fragrant leaves scattering far 
and wide on the waves. 

“ Well, New York has had its own tea party, 
as well as Boston,” exclaimed David to the 
group which hailed him as he came ashore. 
Clarissa and her brothers, Sally, and Mrs. 
Lansing had joined the Van Dams and had 
been waiting impatiently for their hero. 

“ I wonder what the outcome of it all is going 
to be,” said Sally, looking intently at David. 
“ Do you know that Peter, here, tells us he has 
heard that the port of Boston is closed? ” 

“Closed!” echoed David. His smile had 
faded, and his face, like those of the others, was 
very grave. 

“Mother, what can people do in times like 
these? ” 

Clarissa Morton looked up from her knitting, 
and laid her hands in her lap, over the half- 
finished stocking; but her mother did not once 
stop the steady “ click, click ” of her needles, as 
she answered. 

“ We can only do our regular duty, day by 
day, my daughter, and be ready for any emer¬ 
gency that may come. Only God knows our 


72 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

future. Our forbears came to this land seeking 
freedom to think about and worship the great 
Father of all, as each one understands best in 
his own mind; and we must guard this in the 
face of any trial or hardship that besets us.” 

“Do you think there really will be war, 
Mother? ” 

“As I have just said, Clarissa, only God 
knows. Your father was telling me yesterday 
that Mr. John Jay said to the Congress in 
Philadelphia that there were three ways of 
dealing with England: by negotiating peace¬ 
fully with her, if she would; by having nothing 
to do with her — ‘ non intercourse ’ he called it, 
in his learned manner; or by war.” 

“ And if war should come, Mother, what can 
women do? There are the three boys, march¬ 
ing and drilling. I watched Peter a long time 
to-day, up on the Bloomingdale Hoad. There 
is Nathan Hale, studying the arts of war. 
And, of course, there are David and Mr. 
Hamilton and their set. All the young men I 
know, except — ” 

Her mother looked up quickly, as Clarissa 
hesitated for just the fraction of a second, and 
then added, “ except Charles Langley.” 




“The Pursuit of Happiness” 73 

“And why is that?” queried her mother. 

“ I cannot find out. He curls his lip at the 
boys and the young men when they drill; and 
when we talk of the Congress and Mr. Jay and 
Mr. Livingston — even of Mr. Washington — 
he either keeps a sullen silence or makes fun of 
them.” 

“ Makes fun of them? ” echoed Mrs. Morton, 
whose face had assumed a troubled expression. 
“ Clarissa, you should all shun a man like that. 
There is something you can do. If he finds 
himself scorned and set aside, he will soon 
come to his senses. Leave him alone! Show 
him he is even beneath contempt! ” 

“We all do leave him pretty much alone, ex¬ 
cept Sally. She seems to like him.” 

“ Sally? Sally Lansing? I can’t believe 
it, Clarissa. She is as true to the country as 
any of us.” 

“ Oh, of course she is. I didn’t mean any¬ 
thing like that. I love Neltje and Sally 
almost alike. But, Mother, she does like 
Charles, and she always stands up for him, and 
— and — it has made a little difference in our 
set.” 

“ Difference? I should think it might make 




74 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

a difference! I shall keep an eye on that young 
man, hereafter. Now, Clarissa, to work again, 
daughter.” 

Not once in this whole conversation had Mrs. 
Morton’s fingers ceased knitting; and one 
glance at Clarissa’s idle fingers told her the 
tale of her daughter’s wandering thoughts. 

“ One thing a woman can always do, is to 
keep busy,” said she. 

“Yes, Mother,” answered Clarissa, duti¬ 
fully taking up her needles again. 

“ Perchance war should come,” continued the 
older woman, in a calm voice, “ it would mean 
that our men would all go to the fight. Your 
father is not too old, nor your brothers too 
young. When things like this happen, it is a 
woman’s place to see the men of the family go, 
and not flinch.” 

“ Yes, Mother,” said the girl, whose face had 
suddenly saddened. “ The twins are eighteen; 
but Peter, Mother, — wouldn’t he be too young 
to go to war? ” 

“ Peter is nearly fifteen,” was the answer. 

The Mortons lived very near to the spot 
where Broadway terminated in fields and 
forests. Clarissa looked out at the golden 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 75 

September sunshine that bathed the country¬ 
side with light. Then she looked at the clock, 
and her fingers flew. In less than an hour it 
would be time to dress for Mrs. Murray’s party. 

How the young people loved to gather there 
at Inclenberg, in the big house surrounded by 
fields and gardens. But no one had looked 
forward to this special occasion with more 
eagerness than quiet, home-loving Clarissa. 
As soon as her task of knitting was finished, 
she went upstairs and dressed herself in her 
best plum-colored dress, her bonnet, with rib¬ 
bons to match, and her long black lace gloves. 
Kissing her mother good-bye, she set out. As 
she picked her way carefully along the dusty 
road, she heard, behind her, the rumble of the 
stage coach that traveled once a week to White 
Plains. As she stepped aside to let the cum¬ 
brous coach go by, a familiar voice called from 
its height: 

“Clarissa! Clarissa Morton! Driver, will 
you please stop a moment and take her up! ” 

It was Sally Lansing. As the lumbering 
vehicle came to a stop, Clarissa clambered up 
beside her friend, grateful for the opportunity 
to ride and chat with her the rest of the way. 


76 “The Pursuit of Happiness ” 

But no sooner had she seated herself than she 
became aware of the presence of Charles 
Langley, who had been riding in the coach with 
Sally. 

The thought of her mother’s face, as she had 
seen it less than two hours before, flashed to her 
mind. Simultaneously with the picture came 
the recollection of something her father had said 
about a friend of his, who had differed with 
him as to the workings of the Congress at 
Philadelphia. 

“ They that are not with us are against us. 
There is no middle way.” 

“ I’ll keep an eye on him,” Clarissa promised 
herself, as she began to chatter with Sally. 

When the three reached their destination, 
lovely Mrs. Murray was at the door, welcoming 
them with outstretched hands. 

“Most of the party is outdoors,” she ex¬ 
plained, when they had all arrived. “ Sep¬ 
tember on the Hudson River is too beautiful 
to spend indoors. The girls will have to be 
careful of their pretty clothes, and you will all 
have to be careful of Jake’s cornfield; but you 
are to search for red ears in the field, instead of 
in the barn, this afternoon. I will give you 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 77 

just so much time to do it; and that will not be 
time enough for much damage. Now, away 
with you all! ” 

The gracious lady waved her hands. Like 
a flock of gay butterflies the young people 
swarmed out over the stubby cornfield, where 
the golden stalks lay on the ground, ready to 
be gathered in. 

“ There’s no excitement. I don’t believe 
there’s a red ear in the field,” exclaimed 
Alexander Hamilton. He was a great beau 
in this young set, and all the girls flushed and 
tittered at this remark. 

“How conceited he is!” came a voice at 
Sally’s elbow. 

“Who is conceited, Charles? ” 

“ That young Hamilton, of course. Every¬ 
thing and everybody seems to revolve around 
him, according to his way of thinking.” 

“Charles! I believe you’re jealous! Only 
the other night David was saying that he never 
had known a man so gifted and clever as 
Alexander Hamilton, who had, at the same 
time, such a loving disposition.” 

“You’ve all turned his head with remarks 
like that,” said Charles, sullenly. 


78 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“ But we don’t tell him such things,” per¬ 
sisted Sally. “It’s just so — that’s all.” 

“ Oh well, if you admire him so much more 
than you do anyone else — ” 

“Charles, Charles, you know I don’t!” 
Sally’s downcast face gave the young man the 
greatest pleasure he had had that afternoon. 

Sunburned and hot and flushed and laugh¬ 
ing, the band of merrymakers tramped back to 
the house, as Mrs. Murray’s farm bell rang 
lustily from the front piazza. Neltje Van 
Dam had found the one big red ear in the field, 
and was proclaimed the belle of the occasion. 
All the men and maids did homage to her, as 
she sat on the lawn under the great maple trees. 

“ How Ottolene would love to live out in the 
country, instead of right in the town,” ex¬ 
claimed she, not in the least embarrassed at all 
the attention that was being paid her. 

“ She seems to be the odd little duckling 
among you all, doesn’t she? ” said Mrs. Murray. 

“ There is no one just her age among any of 
our friends,” answered Neltje. “But she 
seems to keep happy, day in and day out, with 
her dolls and her doll house. And then she 
has a garden spot all her own. She’s just like 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 79 

Father, for loving to putter around among the 
plants.” 

“ Nevertheless, she mustn’t grow up to be too 
solitary,” said Mrs. Murray. “ And if you say 
she likes the country, Neltje, you must bring 
her out often, and she can watch the garden 
and the cows and the chickens to her heart’s 
content.” 

“Oh, indeed, she’d love it, Mrs. Murray! 
I’ll ask my mother to let her come.” 

Neltje went home that night carrying her 
red ear, and regaled her family, at the supper 
table, with all the exciting news of the party. 

“ ’Tis good to hear thy prattle, child,” said 
her father. “ I verily believe ’tis only hap¬ 
piness and lightness of spirit that can keep the 
heart strong. When I hear of thy frills and 
thy foibles and thy fun, I seem to feel no fear 
but that these Colonies will settle the affairs of 
our land in some good manner, and leave us free 
to be contented and happy for generations to 
come. True happiness is, without a doubt, 
God’s greatest gift to man.” 

Mistress Van Dam looked about at her 
goodly household and beamed with delight, as 
she listened to these words. There was her 


80 “The Pursuit of Happiness ” 

husband, loving her and his home and his 
children beyond all else in the world. There 
was Neltje, one of the belles of the town, with 
her golden hair, her deep blue eyes, her bright 
color, and a nature and disposition as lovely as 
her appearance. There was Ottolene, with 
brilliant pink cheeks, too, and eyes as blue as 
gentians; with straight brown hair, and a sturdy 
little soul; — her baby, still adorable in her 
chubbiness. And there was David Henry, who 
had become almost a son of the house; quiet 
and vivacious, by turns; keen for his studies in 
the law; loving company and gayety; yet, above 
all else, burning with zeal for the Cause of the 
Colonies. 

“ Tis as God meant life to be,” the sweet 
faced woman told herself. “A contented 
home, a happy family, success, — they all lead 
to the best in life — they are the best in life. 
Homes like ours are brick foundations in the 
building of a civilization. With each brick 
secure — ” 

“ And Mother, Mrs. Murray wants Ottolene 
to come up to Inclenberg sometime, to spend 
the day. She says she can watch the chickens 
and the flowers — ” 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 81 

“Is there a nice garden?” asked the little 
girl. 

“ Is there a garden? ” echoed her elder sister. 
“Why, there’s one that would take up all the 
space from here to the Battery, and all around 
Bowling Green.” 

Ottolene’s round little face was one broad 
smile. 

“ But you wouldn’t want to go when the 
tulips are out, would you?” asked David, 
turning to her and looking very grave. 

“Mother! Mother! Could I go? Could 
Neltje take me? ” 

“ Indeed she can, some day. I think it is 
most kind of Mrs. Murray to think of a little 
girl like you.” 

“ But go this autumn, or in the winter,” per¬ 
sisted David. “ Don’t go when the tulips are 
out. I understand Mrs. Murray has a very 
large bed of them.” 

Ottolene looked as if a very tempting piece 
of candy were being held just out of her reach; 
but she spoke with great dignity. 

“ When I’m big, I’m going to have a farm 
bigger than Mrs. Murray’s, with rows and rows 
and rows of tulips — red and pink and yellow 


82 “The Pursuit of Happiness ” 

— and you’re not to pick one of them, David.” 
Ottolene shook her finger angrily as she spoke. 

“Tut, tut, Ottolene,” said her mother re¬ 
provingly. “Remember David is older than 
you; and that is no way for a little girl to speak, 
in any case.” 

“ Tut, tut, thyself, Mother,” came from the 
' opposite end of the table. “ Let the child speak 
her mind. I like to see that spirit in my daugh¬ 
ters. So is England older than we are, 
but — ” 

“ Surely, sir, you are not going to liken me to 
our oppressors?” asked David, with a laugh. 

“ Never, my boy. Would that these Colonies 
had one hundred thousand men like you; then 
there would be no need for men like me to spend 
a moment’s thought on the future.” 

“ There are plenty of young men to do what 
has to be done, whatever that may prove to be,” 
said David, with confidence. 

The golden autumn passed, and winter came 
on, while the ire of the Colonists against Eng¬ 
land grew stronger and stronger. 

Day after day, in rain, snow, cold, and sun¬ 
shine, young Hamilton and his men drilled in 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 83 

full sight of the fort. Augustus Van Dam, 
going and coming from his counting-house, 
watched this proceeding with pride. He could 
always single out David because of his height. 

Although he said nothing about it, Master 
Van Dam went out into the garden every day, 
before settling down before the fire with his 
pipe, for a diligent hour of target practice with 
his flintlock gun. This practice came to be an 
indispensable part of his well-ordered daily 
program. The Spring found him firing stead¬ 
ily over the heads of the budding tulips, while 
he eagerly awaited David for whatever news he 
might bring. 

“ Master Van Dam,” exclaimed the latter, on 
one of these days. “ It has been decided which 
of our men shall go to Congress. They who 
have been chosen are the ones we hoped for! ” 

“ When does the new Congress meet? ” asked 
Augustus, leaning on his musket. 

“ The day after to-morrow, April the 20th.” 
“And you say the men chosen to go are — ” 
“ Francis Lewis, George Clinton, Lewis 
Morris, Peter Schuyler, and Robert R. 
Livingston. All of them have promised to 
attend, and they leave this evening.” 


84 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 


“ We may well trust our destinies to men 
like that. Hast any other news, David, from 
any quarter? ” 

“None just at this moment,” answered the 
young man. “But one can never tell what 
may happen, even while we talk.” 

A few days later, Augustus Van Dam, 
having finished his daily target practice, entered 
the house and found Neltje and Sally in the 
big window seat, with their heads close to¬ 
gether. 

“What art thou two so busy about?” he 
asked, puffing his pipe, and drawing up close 
to the fireside. 

“ We have a new game, and we want to be 
able to play it real well at the next sociable,” 
answered his daughter. 

“What is it?” 

“ Sally’s better at the idea than I am, and 
knows more about it. You tell, Sally.” 

“ The game is to draw maps of different 
sections of New York,” explained Sally. 
“ Everybody has one of these maps, and each 
one tells what is going on in the quarter repre¬ 
sented by his or her map, a prize being given to 
the one who shows the greatest knowledge. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 85 

And Master Van Dam, who do you suppose 
has been chosen the judge to decide the prize? ” 

“ Thine own clever self, Sally, I suppose.” 

“No, sir! Your David Henry was elected 
by us all. He is considered the best-informed 
young gentleman in our circle.” 

“ Ha, ha, I’ll banter him about that when he 
comes in to-night,” said Master Van Dam, with 
a chuckle. 

“ O, but Father! That will spoil all the fun,” 
broke in Neltje. “Charles says he mustn’t 
know of his honor until he gets to the house, 
for David wasn’t at the meeting at which he 
was elected.” 

“ Charles Langley? And what has that 
sullen whelp got to say about the game or any¬ 
thing else? ” 

“He only made it up — that’s all,” said 
Sally, in an aggrieved tone. 

“He made it up, did he?” said Augustus. 
He spoke in a quieter voice than before. “ And 
how many others like it has he planned for his 
friends? ” 

“ This is the only one,” said Sally, now quite 
happy at the interest Master Van Dam dis¬ 
played. “And it’s so seldom he makes any 



86 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

effort to be entertaining that we want to help 
him all we can to make this a success.” The 
girl did not add that she had implored Neltje 
to lend her vivacious interest to the game. 

“ It will bring Charles out and make him 
more like the other young men, if it succeeds,” 
she had pleaded; and Neltje, in the sweetness of 
her soul, had promised to do all in her power to 
further the game. 

“Let me see the maps,” said Master Van 
Dam; but the sound of his voice was drowned 
out by a great cry from the street. 

“ Lexington — Concord Bridge — they tried 
to arrest Adams and Hancock!” came the 
words, between shouts and cries. 

Neltje turned to her father, who was already 
hurrying to the street. The girls, too, rushed 
out, followed by Mistress Van Dam. 

Broadway was one seething mass of men, 
headed by some of the best-known citizens of 
the town. 

“ Where are they going? ” questioned the be¬ 
wildered Sally. 

“To the arsenal, I think,” answered the older 
woman. 

Mistress Van Dam was not mistaken. When 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 87 

the crowd of men turned back up Broadway, 
they were all supplied with firearms. They 
had secured enough muskets to arm the entire 
throng. 

There was no peace of mind in the Van Dam 
home, or in any other New York home, rich or 
poor, on that twenty-third of April in 1775. 
Augustus Van Dam, with many other house¬ 
holders, was in conference at Fraunce’s Tavern. 
Mistress Van Dam, with her two children and 
Sally, sat by the fire, waiting for further news. 
Even Ottolene had not been sent to bed. 

About ten o’clock, David came in, accom¬ 
panied by Alexander Hamilton. 

“Drusilla shall bring thee coffee and cakes 
at once,” said the lady of the house. “ But tell 
us without delay, — what is the full news? 
What has happened?” 

“ It reached us from Boston, this afternoon,” 
said David. “And, as it comes to us, this is 
what happened. On April 18th, General Gage 
sent a force of eight hundred troops to Lexing¬ 
ton. Evidently his plan was to arrest Mr. 
Adams and Mr. Hancock, and then capture 
the military stores at Concord. The British 
troops were rowed secretly across the Charles 



88 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

River, about ten o’clock in the evening; but 
wise General Warren suspected something of 
the kind.” 

Here David paused for breath, and young 
Hamilton took up the tale. 

“Do you remember a young man, named 
Paul Revere? ” asked he. 

“ Indeed we do.” 

“ Well, he was chosen, with a certain William 
Dawes, to warn the countryside of the coming 
of the troops.” 

Between them, the two young men finished 
the tale. 

“ William Dawes was to go by way of Rox- 
bury, and Paul Revere by Charlestown. The 
latter crossed the Charles River in a small row¬ 
boat, in the very shadow of the British man-of- 
war, Somerset. It had been arranged to have 
lights in the tower of the North Church in 
Boston, to inform Revere whether the British 
troops were coming by land or by sea.” 

“ Thank God for all our brave men!” broke 
in Mistress Van Dam fervently. “But tell 
me, David, what of Mr. Adams and Mr. Han¬ 
cock? ” 

“ They are safe,” said David. “ They were 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 89 

staying in the home of a friend, the Reverend 
Jonas Clark; and when Paul Revere clattered 
up in the middle of the night, the sentries told 
him not to make a noise, and he told them to 
their faces: ‘You’ll soon hear noise enough. 
The regulars are coming.’ And they do say 
Mr. Hancock threw up the window and 
ordered Paul Revere into the house.” 

Neltje’s triumphant laugh pealed out, and 
Ottolene joined in. Sally looked nervous and 
worried. 

“ Does that mean real war? ” she asked. 

“ It means that and nothing else,” answered 
Alexander Hamilton, in his polished voice. 

“It is the revolt of free men against oppres- 

• >> 
sion. 

“You call it revolt, instead of war,” said 
Sally. 

“I call it the revolution — the American 
Revolution,” answered the young captain; and 
soon after this he bowed himself out of the 
house. 

It was too late for Sally to go home at that 
hour without an escort, so, as was often her 
wont, she spent the night with Neltje. 

“ Do you really think the English are so un- 



90 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

generous and unfair?” she asked Neltje, as 
they made ready for bed. 

“ Why, Sally! How can you think anything 
else? They treat us all like children. Eng¬ 
land has her own land and her own laws; why 
shouldn’t we? I don’t even see how you can 
ask such a thing, Sally.” 

“ Mother thinks just as you do, and so do I,” 
said Sally, thoughtfully. “ If we only had 
Father to talk to, it might be different.” 

“ Poor Sally!” exclaimed Neltje. “You 
must talk to my father and to David and to Mr. 
Hamilton.” 

“ The trouble is with Charles. Charles 
admires the English,” said Sally, with a sob in 
her voice. 


CHAPTER IV 

“ ’Tis a hard fix, David, that the merchants 
of New York find themselves in to-day,” ex¬ 
claimed Augustus Van Dam the next evening, 
as the younger man busied himself with his 
books. 

“ Wise men are sometimes slow to act,” came 
the answer. “ But I believe the wisest ones 
to-day are those who do what has to be done, 
and do it quickly.” 

The news that the Port of Boston had been 
closed had acted like a brisk wind, fanning the 
flame of resentment in the hearts of the Sons 
of Liberty. The Parliament of Great Britain 
stood as firm as a rock, insisting that the way¬ 
ward American Colonies be made to feel that 
they were dependent upon the mighty country 
overseas. 

From the Earl of Dartmouth had come the 
actual orders to the governors of the colonies, 
which read as follows: 


91 


92 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“ I have it in command from the King to 
acquaint you that it is His Majesty’s firm 
resolution, upon the unanimous advice of his 
confidential servants, to pursue such measures 
as shall be effectual for securing the dependence 
of the Colonies upon this Kingdom.” 

A copy of this resolution was sent to New 
York from England. It was printed and 
circulated throughout the town, and was the 
cause of a meeting of the patriots, twenty-four 
hours later, in Fraunce’s Tavern. It was over 
these events that the two men were bending 
their thoughts so vigorously. 

“ ’Twas a representative meeting,” the older 
man declared, with satisfaction. 44 Think of 
the merchants alone who were present. They 
have held aloof from all these misunderstand¬ 
ings up to now. Indeed, in many a conversa¬ 
tion with those of them whom I know well, they 
have had hard and bitter things to say against 
that band of thine; but now they are willing to 
meet and confer with them. David, I believe 
the time is perhaps not far distant when we all 
— all who love our land and our freedom — will 
come under that head — the Sons of Liberty.” 


“The Pursuit of Happiness ” 93 

The young fellow sprang to his feet and 
grasped the older man’s hands in both of his. 

“God be thanked for that!” he exclaimed. 
“So, and so only, can we win. And by stand¬ 
ing together we will win in the end, sir. There 
can be no doubt of that.” 

So it was that the two different parties — 
one impulsive, reckless, and determined; the 
other thoughtful, conservative, and deliberate 
— met on May 16th, in the well-known tavern, 
to discuss the part New York should play in 
the great struggle for Liberty. 

The “moderates,” as the older men were 
called, were, without doubt, the leaders in this 
assemblage. Their candidate, Isaac Low, was 
elected chairman of the meeting. The young 
and fiery band to which David, the Mortons, 
the Pauldings, and the Van Wycks belonged 
proposed a list of twenty-five names for a com¬ 
mittee. The thoughtful conservatives approved 
the suggestion, but favored increasing the num¬ 
ber to fifty, — twenty-three from the names the 
Sons of Liberty had chosen, and twenty-seven 
from the older group. 

“We need four more of us to balance all the 
wild ways of you boys,” Augustus had ex- 




94 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

plained to the group that gathered around him 
after the meeting. 

To the satisfaction of both parties, the name 
of gentle and well-loved Francis Lewis was 
added to the group, and thus was formed the 
“ Committee of Fifty-One,” which was to be¬ 
come famous in the political life of the town. 
There were widely differing opinions in those 
ranks, but there was a unity of purpose that 
bound the men together for many months there¬ 
after. 

“ The merchants of New York are ever more 
broad-minded than those Bostonians, who can 
see but one way, and that the one right before 
their noses,” continued Master Van Dam, that 
same evening. He himself, it must be con¬ 
fessed, the prosperous owner of a counting- 
house, seldom saw much farther than the ex¬ 
panse of water bordering on Bowling Green. 
“Now think of the wisdom of those whom we 
saw and talked with at that meeting. They 
plan, instead of boycotting everything from 
over the sea and leaving us poor in pocket, that 
we simply import articles not subject to tax. 
What thinkest thou of that scheme, David? 
Is it not wisdom and forethought and clever- 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 95 

ness like that that will make our town great 
and wealthy some day? ” 

“ ’Tis pure sagacity, sir, and no mistake,” 
answered David. His own speech was becom¬ 
ing a mixture of Dutch and English, as a result 
of having lived so long with these New York¬ 
ers. It may be that Boston goes too far in 
her opposition. It may be that New York 
does not go far enough. But far above states 
of mind, far above what is best for the present, 
the question is asked — not of New York, or of 
Boston, or of Philadelphia — but of all the 
United Colonies: — ‘ Shall our Land be free ? ’ ” 

“ Thou art a true patriot, David. Thy 
thoughts run a greater distance than mine are 
able to do.” 

In the meantime, hot-headed, grievously in¬ 
sulted Boston was carrying her quarrel with 
Great Britain with a high hand. Parliament 
was punishing her severely for asserting her 
rights, as a free commonwealth, to carry on 
trade in her own fashion; and now she was re¬ 
questing her pleasure-loving, aristocratic sister, 
New York, to join her in having no intercourse 
whatever with England. The ties which bound 
the Colonies were becoming very strong. 





96 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

As Augustus Van Dam had explained, the 
level-headed merchants of New York meant to 
hold their tempers as far as possible, for the 
sake of trade. They hoped to keep the prin¬ 
ciple of “ no taxation without representation ” 
unimpaired, while still maintaining a brisk 
trade in commodities, the sale of which meant 
comfort and pleasure to them and to their 
families. 

The paramount question for the Committee 
of Fifty-One to settle was whether or not New 
York should join hands with Boston in her 
extreme measures. After talking over the 
matter with Master Van Dam for the space of 
an hour or more, David put his books away, and 
went out to keep an appointment with Alexan¬ 
der Hamilton. 

This extraordinary young man was coming 
more and more to the fore in New York. In¬ 
deed, he was becoming known all over the 
Colonies, and David regarded as a rare treat 
every conversation he had with him. The two 
met in the Merchant’s Coffee House. No 
sooner had David Henry caught sight of the 
familiar slender figure, than the latter drew a 
paper from his pocket. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 97 

“ What is that? ” asked David. 

“ It is the answer to Boston’s plea,” answered 
Hamilton. “ I have procured a copy to keep. 
Great steps are being taken by civilization these 
days, and you and I are eye witnesses of the 
action.” He held out the paper, and David 
read: 

“ Gentlemen : 

“ The alarming Measures of the British Par¬ 
liament relative to your ancient and respectable 
Town, which has so long been the Seat of Free¬ 
dom, fills the Inhabitants of this City with in¬ 
expressible Concern; as a Sister Colony suf¬ 
fering in Defense of the Rights of America, we 
consider your Injuries as a Common Cause, to 
the Redress of which it is equally our Duty and 
our Interest to contribute. But what ought to 
be done in a Situation so truly critical, while it 
employs the anxious Thoughts of every 
Generous Mind, is very hard to be determined. 
Our Citizens have thought it necessary to ap¬ 
point a large Committee consisting of fifty-one 
Persons to correspond with our Sister Colonies 
on this and every other Matter of publick 
Moment, and at ten o’clock this Forenoon we 
were first assembled. Your Letter enclosing 
the Vote of the Town of Boston, and the Letter 
of your Committee of Confidence, were im¬ 
mediately taken into Consideration. While 


98 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

we think you justly entitled to the Thanks of 
your Sister Colonies, for asking their Advice 
on a Case of such extensive Consequences, we 
lament our Inability to relieve your Anxiety 
by a decisive Opinion. The Cause is general 
and concerns a whole Continent who are equally 
interested with you and us; and we foresee that 
no Remedy can be of avail unless it proceed 
from the joint Act and Approbation of all. 
From a virtuous and spirited Union much may 
be expected, while the feeble Efforts of a few 
will only be attended with Mischief and Dis¬ 
appointment to themselves, and Triumph to 
the Adversaries of our Liberty. Upon these 
Reasons we conclude that a Congress of 
Deputies from the Colonies in general is of the 
utmost Moment; and that it ought to be as¬ 
sembled without Delay and form some unani¬ 
mous Resolutions in this fatal Emergency, not 
only respecting your deplorable Circumstances, 
but for the Secret of our Common Rights. 
Such being our Sentiments, it must be pre¬ 
mature to pronounce any Judgement on the 
Expedient which you have suggested. We 
beg, however, that you will do us the Justice to 
believe that we shall continue to act with a firm 
and becoming Regard to American Freedom, 
and shall cooperate with our Sister Colonies in 
every Measure which shall be thought salutary 
and conducive to the publick Good. 

“We have nothing to add but that we sin¬ 
cerely condole with you in your unexampled 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 99 

Distress; and to request your speedy Opinion 
of the proposed Congress, that if it should meet 
with your Approbation we may exert our ut¬ 
most Endeavors to carry it into Execution. 

“ We are with much Respect, Gentlemen, 

“ Your most Hbl. Servants. 

“ Bv Order of the Committee. 

* 

“ Isaac Low, Chairman. 

“ Alexander MacDougall, 

James Duane, 

John Jay. 

To the Committee of 
Correspondence 
In Boston.” 

David read slowly and carefully, weighing in 
his mind each word of these men whose opinions 
he regarded with the greatest respect. The 
names at the end of the document represented 
the finest calibre of intelligence in N-ew York. 
And he knew, as every thoughtful man knew, 
that in their wise and conservative fashion they 
were Sons of Liberty, as truly as were the 
shouting youths whose resistance against the 
outrages of England burst into flame at the 
slightest instigation. 


> 

i > 


100 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“New York believes in going over things 
very carefully,” he said. 

Young Hamilton’s face was radiant, as he 
replied: 

“New York dreams of a United band of 
States, which shall no longer be the colonial 
possessions of a country of the old world. She 
sees New York and Rhode Island and Mas¬ 
sachusetts and Virginia and the other Colonies 
— not each one striving for its own rights in 
a feeble unassisted way; but a federation of 
these, and of other principalities which will 
doubtless arise on the great western borders of 
America. She sees these all bound together 
in protection of their rights and their people, 
and in the furtherance of good government. 
New York believes in these Colonies acting 
as one; and who knows but that out of the 
many settlements one Country shall be born in 
this new world — a Nation that shall be our 
own! ” 

“ Hamilton! You mean a land of our own, 
with laws we make ourselves, — a land with a 
Flag we shall call our own? ” 

“ I mean that and nothing else,” came the 
answer. “ That is the idea that has been born 





“The Pursuit of Happiness” 101 

and is growing in the minds of men like those 
on the committee who have written and signed 
this paper; — a new land, with laws of its own 
making, with coin bearing its own superscrip¬ 
tion, and, as you say, with a Flag of its own.” 

The sociable to which Neltje and Sally had 
looked forward with so much pleasure was held 
at the latter’s home. All the young set had 
been invited. The alarm of war; the startling 
news from Boston, which was actually under 
siege; the ever-deepening indignation of the 
Colonists; — none of these things could daunt 
the spirit of these gay young men and women, 
nor spoil their quest for fun. 

Only David Henry was late for the party. 
After waiting for almost an hour for the judge 
of the game to arrive, it was decided to begin 
the festivities of the evening. The carefully 
measured maps of New York were spread out 
upon the wide table in . the dining-room, and 
each guest in turn aired his or her knowledge 
of what went on in the different parts of the 
city. 

44 Here is Ottolene’s school; and here is the 
house where I take my harpsichord lessons,” 



102 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

said Neltje, putting small marks on her map to 
mark the places. 

Besides the maps, each one had been given a 
sheet of foolscap paper, upon which was to be 
written all that the individual knew of any 
particular house or vicinity. 

“ Give full accounts,” Charles had directed. 
In conducting this pastime he was apparently 
in his element, for the attention which the in¬ 
terest in his game had brought him had caused 
a flush of pleasure to overspread his usually 
pale cheeks. 

“Well,” said Neltje, looking up from her 
foolscap and gurgling with laughter, “ how will 
this do?” And she read: 

Music master, a disagreeable old gentle¬ 
man, who sides with Parliament against the 
Colonies. Think I will stop taking music 
lessons.’ ” 

“ Good! ” exclaimed Charles, warming to her 
wit, and marking on his own map the spot where 
stood the shipping office in which he was em¬ 
ployed as a clerk. Against this he wrote: 
“Drafty spot. Think of moving to office on 
opposite side of the street.” 

Much that the young people wrote was sheer 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 103 

nonsense; but most of the maps showed a very 
clear knowledge of what was going on in the 
city, and the accounts were highly colored with 
the patriotic views of these young Americans. 

“ Shop of Hugh Game, the Tory printer, 
who sells everything from pumice stone to 
razors,” read one. 

“A favorite meeting place of — No — ” and 
Clarissa suddenly closed her mouth and lifted 
her pencil from the spot to which it was point¬ 
ing. 

“Meeting-place of whom, — the Sons of 
Liberty?” asked Charles. 

“ Yes,” answered the girl. “ But I’m not 
going to tell anybody.” 

“And how do you know?” asked the young 
man. 

“My brothers told me,” said the girl guard¬ 
edly. 

“I’m thinking of joining,” said Charles. 
“ The Sons of Liberty have always been a little 
too boisterous for me, but these are not the days 
to hold back from anything.” 

“Indeed they are not!” came from Peter 
Morton, the youngest of the family. “If you 
would join the Sons of Liberty, Charles, and 


104 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

get out and fight, you wouldn’t have such a pale 
face.” 

Clarissa was unable to chide her young 
brother for having uttered this thought. 
Charles had brought it on himself, holding aloof 
as he had done. A little sharp talk might stir 
him out of his lethargy. Perhaps, after all, 
they had misjudged him. He could be in¬ 
terested when he chose. He certainly was the 
life of the party to-night. This game seemed 
to appeal to his imagination, and he did not 
appear hurt at Peter’s words. 

“ Perhaps I may join, Peter,” said he. 
“ What would be the nearest meeting-place for 
me, and when and how often do they gather? ” 

“ Let’s see — you live on the corner of Pearl 
Street, don’t you? Well, there’s a thriving 
band that meets each night in an old warehouse 
by the river. I’ll take you any time you want 
to go.” 

“ Thanks, Peter. Indeed I do want to go, 
and I’ll let you know the first free night I have, 
which I think will be soon.” 

The game progressed, with no sign of David. 

“Did he say anything about not coming?” 
asked Sally. 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 105 

“No,” answered Neltje. “We had a little 
argument about the time. I told him I knew it 
was to-night, but he thought I was mistaken, 
and I told him you had seen me and had invited 
me by word of mouth.” 

“ I sent the men written invitations, so there 

/ 

surely can be no mistake,” said Sally. 

The evening wore on, and still David failed 
to appear. The young people were disap¬ 
pointed, for it had been announced that two 
handsome prizes would be awarded for the best 
maps, and they were impatient to have their 
work judged. 

“No one knows quite so much about the city 
as David, even men who were born here,” said 
one of the guests. “He remembers everything 
he ever learns.” 

Finally, the question arose: “Who shall 
judge the maps? ” 

“ Why, Charles! ” announced Neltje. “ He 
ought to judge them. It’s his game.” 

“ But just because I thought of it is no reason 
why I should be the judge.” 

“ But you certainly can tell who did the best 
work.” 

“ The question is: is my knowledge correct? 


106 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

If some one will go over the plans with me, I’ll 
do my best.” 

“ I’ll try. I’ll warrant I can help,” volun¬ 
teered Peter with great enthusiasm, and 
Charles eagerly accepted his assistance. 

When the maps had been examined it was 
announced that Peter had won the men’s prize 
— a handsome writing-case. The guests all 
applauded when the girl’s prize went to Neltje, 
for she was a favorite with young and old. 

“ This handkerchief case is beautiful, and it’s 
all been a lovely party. You’re to be con¬ 
gratulated, dear,” said Neltje, as she bade Sally 
good night. The latter was glowing with hap¬ 
piness and enthusiasm, and Neltje knew that 
the sparkle in her eye and the rose on her cheek 
came from the fact that the success of the 
evening had been chiefly due to the efforts of her 
friend, Charles. 

“ There wasn’t a dull moment during the 
whole evening,” declared Neltje at the break¬ 
fast table the next morning, continuing the con¬ 
versation she had begun with Ottolene upstairs. 

“ When was this? ” asked David. 

“At Sally’s party last night. I wish you 
hadn’t missed it, but you’re such a busy man.” 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 107 

“ But I was far from busy last night, Neltje. 
I could have gone.” 

“But, David! Didn’t you remember what 
I told you about the date? ” 

“ Yes, I remembered, and I went so far as 
to look at my written invitation, and the date 
was for to-night. I can vouch for it.” 

The young man took Sally’s dainty note from 
his pocket and handed it to Neltje. 

“You’re right,” she said in a disappointed 
tone, handing it back to him. “What a sad 
face Sally will make when she hears that she 
has made a mistake like that. She’s generally 
as accurate as her handwriting is clear.” 

“ She does write beautifully,” agreed David, 
unfolding the sheet again out of sheer admira¬ 
tion. 

As he held it in the morning light, however, 
his brow knitted, and he bent over the paper 
thoughtfully. 

“ What did you do that caused so much fun? ” 
he asked a moment later, as he replaced the 
sheet in his pocket. 

“We drew maps of the city—Father has 
seen some of them—and then told all we knew 
about the different sections. Little Peter Mor- 


108 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

ton knew every nook and corner where things 
are happening.” 

“ Call not a man who can shoot as well as 
Peter 4 little spoke Augustus Van Dam re¬ 
provingly, 44 whatever his years may be.” The 
boy was a great favorite with the older man. 

44 And he is nearly sixteen, at that,” broke in 
Mistress Van Dam. 

But David’s eyes were fixed on Neltje. 
44 And what became of those maps when the 
game was over?” he asked. 

44 1 really cannot say, David. You see, you 
were to have been the judge. Sally and I 
planned that when we first heard about this 
game that Charles suggested. And then, when 
you didn’t come, we urged him to take your 
place, and he said he would if Peter would help 
him.” 

“And Peter did?” asked David, his voice 
rather strained. 

44 Why, yes, — of course. I’m sorry you are 
disappointed, David. Sally will be — ” 

“Never mind Sally, Neltje. Tell me,— 
are the papers still at her house?” 

44 1 think they are, if the serving-maid hasn’t 
cleared them away as rubbish.” 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 109 

Without another word David rose and left 
the table. Neltje felt rather abashed at his 
abrupt manner. 

“ Take no notice, child,” said her father. Any 
bit of displeasure or unhappiness that fell to 
his elder daughter’s lot seemed to fall with 
double weight upon him. “David seems to 
have much on his mind to-day.” 

“ Oh, I know, Father; but he seemed so short 
over poor Sally’s simple mistake.” 

“ I have a wonderful piece of news for you 
girls,” said Mistress Van Dam, troubled in her 
turn to see Neltje unhappy, and glad of any 
excuse to divert her daughter’s mind from her 
troubles. “I heard yesterday that Nathan 
Hale has been made Captain of a Company in 
the Connecticut Brigade, which has been dis¬ 
patched to New York. That will add another 
welcome member to your set. We must do all 
we can to keep the young men in high spirits 
these days. ’Tis no wonder any one of them 
is out of sorts, with no one knowing what the 
days will bring.” 

Neltje’s heart smote her to think that she had 
even noticed David’s manner. But she had 
no chance to make amends, for he had hurried 


110 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

from the table and was walking quickly in the 
direction of the Lansings’ house. 

Miranda, who opened the door, stared in 
amazement to see one of the young men call¬ 
ing at this early hour. At David’s request, 
however, she called Miss Sally, who came out 
of the breakfast room smiling. 

“ Come in, David, and have a bite of break¬ 
fast, and give an account of what kept you 
away last night.” 

“No — no, thank you. I have just had my 
breakfast. Sally, — it is about the party last 
night. I would have been here, but for this. 
I confess it is not very mannerly to show it to 
you, but see,” and he held out the letter she had 
sent to him. 

“The wrong date? Why, it can’t be! I 
can’t believe I did such a thing. Why, David, 
some one has been playing a joke. It — it must 
have been Charles. He insisted upon helping 
me with the invitations. He really has a lot 
of fun in him when you know him well. Don’t 
you see? Some one has carefully changed the 
date? Oh, these jealous young men!” 

Sally was a born coquette, and all her charm 
was at its bloom this morning. 




“The Pursuit of Happiness” 111 

“Do you think so?” asked David, leaning 
over and appearing to examine what he had 
discovered twenty minutes before. “Well, I 
suppose what can’t be cured must be endured. 
I’m sorry I missed all the fun. It must have 
taken wits, too, to make those maps. I’d like 
to see them, Sally, if I may.” 

“You should have them all to look at, but 
Charles took every one of them home. I was 
going to have them destroyed, but he said that 
he would like to keep them as mementos of his 
first social success in New York.” 

Sally was startled at the expression that came 
over David’s face. 

“ He still lives in the same lodgings, does he 
not?” asked the young man, clutching his hat. 

“ Yes, David,” answered Sally in a fright¬ 
ened tone. 

The young soldier’s face softened as he 
looked at her, and he laid down his hat. 

“ Sally,” he said, “ these are times which try 
our souls; and, as women’s are ever more sensi¬ 
tive than men’s, theirs must be the fiercer hurt. 
Sally, you love your Land?” 

“As I do life itself, David.” 

“And the great Cause of Liberty?” 


112 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“ I do, I do, David; even in the face of what 
some of my best friends seem to think.” 

“ Sally, a soldier never knows when a sword 
will run him through. Can you stand a wound 
sharper than a sword thrust?” 

“David! I cannot understand you,” cried 
the girl. 

“ Sally, I must make you understand. You 
are brave. Listen! Charles Langley has been 
suspected for many weeks of being in league 
with the British, and of acting as one of their 
spies here in New York. There have been 
many acts half traced to him; but here is a bare¬ 
faced plot that has so far succeeded. In your 
unsuspecting merrymaking he has laid a trap 
for all your set, and out of your knowledge of 
your city he has gained access to the hidden net¬ 
work which the patriots have laid beneath their 
barracks.” 

The color faded from Sally’s cheeks as she 
listened, but she neither moved nor spoke. 

“ Only this remains. Langley fears and 
hates me. I could take those papers from him 
only by force, for he would know why I wanted 
them. Sally, it is for you — playing the part 
of the comrade you were last night — to re- 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 113 

trieve the papers. If they are not returned in 
a short time, we can vouch for British spies in 
every corner where the Americans meet in New 
York City, and a knowledge of all our plans 
among the troops of the enemy. Will you do 
this Sally, for the Cause of Liberty?” 

“ David, I would do anything! But you don’t 
know — you don’t understand! Charles — ” 

“ Yes, I do understand, Sally,” said David. 
“ That is the sword thrust for you. If I have 
asked too much, tell me so. I well know that 
should I appear in that lodging-house this 
morning those innocent maps would disappear 
as if by magic. They would go on their harm¬ 
ful way, and our side would never see them. 
Speak, Sally. There is no time to be lost. 
Will you do this?” 

“Do you mean now — at once?” 

“As soon as possible. Arrange another 
party for to-night, and say that you need the 
maps. Go, before he gives them away. I can 
trust you, Sally. Is it ‘ yes ’ or ‘ no ’ ? ” 

“Yes,” said the girl; and David bent over 
her hand in the fashion of the day, and left 
without another word. 

For an instant Sally stood with clenched 



114 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

hands. Then she donned her bonnet and her 
cape. 

“ Sally, where are you going this hour of the 
morning?” called her mother from upstairs, 
where she breakfasted in bed each day. 

“ I am just going out on an errand, Mother. 
I’ll tell you about it when I come back.” 

Sally held her cloak tightly around her as she 
left the house in haste. 

“Charles a spy — a traitor to the Cause! 
David must be mistaken.” 

But she brushed these thoughts from her 
mind, for her face must not reveal the slightest 
trace of agitation. 

The house in which Charles lived was kept 
by a kindly widow, who had been left with an 
only daughter. This daughter, Julie deVeaux, 
was a great friend of Sally’s, and it was through 
her that she had become acquainted with Charles 
Langley. 

“ I must feign a visit to Julie,” she told her¬ 
self as she went up the steps. But suddenly it 
occurred to her that J ulie was away. Her heart 
sank, but she knocked on the door and waited. 

“ Is Mistress deVeaux in? ” she asked of the 
weary-looking man who answered her knock. 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 115 

“No, Miss Sally. She went out to the mar¬ 
ket about five minutes ago.” 

“Well, I’ll wait, if I may.” 

“Yes, Miss Sally. Right in here.” 

“Oh no, don’t open the parlor door for me. 
I’ll wait right here.” 

“Just as you say, Miss Sally.” 

As the man disappeared into a remote part 
of the house, Sally bent her head to listen for 
any sound that might come. From the room 
above there came the hum of men’s voices. 
Without a moment’s hesitation she ran up¬ 
stairs and knocked gently on the door. It was 
immediately opened, and there stood Charles 
Langley, looking very much surprised. 

“Sally Lansing!” 

“Oh, Charles!” she exclaimed, shrinking 
back a little. “ Could I see Julie for a mo¬ 
ment? ” 

“But Julie isn’t here, Sally.” 

“ Isn’t here? I heard voices, and I came up. 
You say she isn’t here? ” 

“No, Sally. There are only two of my 
friends here. You’re not afraid of a redcoat, 
are you? ” 

The girl’s heart sank. She felt somewhat 


116 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

dazed as Charles led her into the room and in¬ 
troduced her to two British soldiers. 

“ Won’t we do in place of Julie, fair Mistress 
Sally ? ” asked one of them, as they were intro¬ 
duced. 

“ I must play the part,” the girl was telling 
herself, again and again. 

As the soldiers spoke, she tossed her head and 
arched her eyebrows with all the witchery she 
possessed. 

“Do you know Julie, my soldier friend? ” she 
asked. 

“ Aye, we know her well, but she does not hold 
a candle to you for style and prettiness,” said 
the second Britisher. 

“Sh!” whispered Charles; but Sally pre¬ 
tended not to hear. Her pretty feet were quak¬ 
ing in her slippers, and she wondered what she 
was going to do. She half closed her eyes in 
a pretended indifference, and appeared to be 
leaving the room. 

Those bright eyes, however, peering through 
the half-closed lids, had seen on the table the 
maps that had been made at her house the eve¬ 
ning before. 

“Please tell Julie I came to ask her if she 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 117 

would come to supper with me to-morrow. And 
Charles, if you haven’t destroyed those papers 
we had for the game last night, could I take 
them to show to my mother? She was vastly 
interested last night, after you had all gone, 
when I told her what we had been doing. Why, 
here they are! May I take them? ” 

Sally’s eyes were wide open now, and she 
picked up the roll of maps casually, as though 
she had just seen them. 

“ Sally, those are very cleverly done. I was 
looking them over again this morning. Far 
from destroying them, I should like to keep 
them.” 

“Is that the map game you were telling us 
about when w^e first came in?” drawled one of 
the soldiers. 

“Yes,” answered Charles. “This young 
lady here is a prime hostess, let me tell you. 
You should have been with us last night.” 

“But it was your idea, Charles,” insisted 
Sally in her most graceful manner. “ May I 
take them, or am I asking too much? ” 

Sally’s sweet voice sank to a childish pout 
which Charles could not resist. 

“ Of course, Sally, you may have them. Take 


118 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

them back for your mother to see, but let me 
have them again this afternoon, won’t you? ” 

“ Oh, thank you! ” exclaimed the girl, look¬ 
ing down carelessly at the maps in her hand. 
“ And don’t forget to give Julie my message.” 

With this, she curtsied herself out of the door, 
and went slowly downstairs. 

“ The wench didn’t promise to give them 
back, I notice,” observed the taller of the sol¬ 
diers to Charles, as Sally disappeared. 

“ Her mind is on nothing but feminine whims 
and fancies,” answered Charles pompously. 
“We’ll have those papers in our hands again 
before night. See if we don’t! What if I 
had opposed her? ” 

“ There’d have been a rumpus,” agreed the 
others. 

A few moments later Sally burst into her 
mother’s room, and was on her knees before the 
fireplace before the lady in bed knew what was 
happening. 

“What are you doing, Sally? You’ll set 
yourself on fire, child.” 

“No, Mother. Wait!” 

Her bonnet and cloak were not removed un¬ 
til the girl had seen her roll of maps reduced to 



Sally was on her knees before the fireplace. -Page 118 , 








“The Pursuit of Happiness” 119 

ashes. Then she threw herself down beside 
her mother’s bed and sobbed out the whole story. 

“My brave daughter, my brave daughter,” 
said her mother again and again, as she 
smoothed the silky brown hair. “You have 
used your woman’s wit for the Great Cause.” 
Then, suddenly changing her tone, she said: 

“Now dry those eyes quickly, Sally. We 
want no red lids to welcome General Washing¬ 
ton. Your red dress and your hat with the 
feather are ready. Now I must hurry, myself, 
to see to the creases in my best gown.” 


CHAPTER V 


Charles Langley’s knock at the door of the 
Lansing house that afternoon was unanswered. 

He well knew what was taking place in the 
city that day, and how the crowds were col¬ 
lecting to welcome General Washington to New 
York. It was a moment of great concern to all 
those who sympathized with England. The 
Colonial forces had mobilized, had formed an 
American Army, and had elected a Com- 
mander-in-Chief, who was now on his way to 
take official command at Boston. 

“Who is this man, George Washington?” 
was the question that greeted Charles when he 
returned to his two British comrades that after¬ 
noon. He had attributed his inability to re¬ 
gain the maps to the fact that all New York had 
gone down to Colonel Lispenard’s wharf to 
attend the celebration and welcoming cere¬ 
monies. 

“ It may be well for the cause of England not 
to belittle him,” answered Charles, who, in his 


120 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 121 

peculiar desultory manner, had gained a com¬ 
prehensive understanding of politics and men 
in the Colonies. 

“To begin with, George Washington has 
been a trained soldier in His Majesty’s own 
forces. As a very young man he was made a 
colonel, and was entrusted with many daring 
errands in our encounters with the French in 
this land. And he served as a brilliant soldier 
under Braddock on the Ohio. But now, this 
fever in the Colonies has turned him against 
the mother country.” 

“ Why,” continued the young man, secretly 
very pleased at the rapt attention of the British 
soldiers, “ it is commonly reported that when the 
port of Boston was closed he declared in great 
anger: ‘ I will raise one thousand men, enlist 
them at my own expense, and march at their 
head to the relief of Boston.’ And it is com¬ 
mon talk that he said he wished to God the 
liberties of America were to be determined by 
a single combat between himself and King 
George.” 

Charles paused for breath; but the red- 
coated soldiers felt it their duty to learn more 
about this man whose name seemed to be on 


122 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

everyone’s lips. Moreover, whether he was for 
or against them, tales of such a soldier thrilled 
them. 

“ Suppose we all go down and see the cere¬ 
monies of his arrival, even though at a dis¬ 
tance?” suggested Charles. But the British 
soldiers would not listen to this. 

“ It does not become His Majesty’s troops to 
countenance the presence of the rebel,” declared 
the older of the two. “ But Langley, since we 
have nothing to do this afternoon, suppose you 
tell us more about this man, George Washing¬ 
ton.” 

“ Yes,” echoed the other soldier. “ It is 
knowledge we should have, if, as you say, Eng¬ 
land may find that she is forced to reckon with 
him some day.” 

“Reckon with him some day!” exclaimed 
Charles. “When will you understand? 
England is reckoning with him now! Did I 
not tell you that the troops of the Colonies 
have formed themselves into what they call an 
‘ American Army ’! There are many all 
around us who have the impudence to call 
themselves ‘Americans’, though some were 
born on English soil; and there are others, like 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 123 

this General Washington, who are directly 
descended from English stock.” 

“ Tell us about the man himself,” demanded 
the soldiers, ignoring completely Charles’s 
reference to an opposing army. 

“ I am told that his ancestors came over in 
the early days of the Virginia settlement and 
took root there in true English fashion. They 
loved the soil, bought great tracts of land, and 
improved them to the best of their ability. 
Lord Fairfax, himself, trained George Wash¬ 
ington as a surveyor, and had him measure 
thousands of his acres. They say that he knows 
the American forests like an Indian, and that 
the lay of the land is like a familiar book to him. 
He has been reared in the English fashion, 
though. Even his home down there in Vir¬ 
ginia, Mount Vernon, was named after the 
English admiral of a generation ago.” 

“ Then why this nonsense about resisting 
England?” questioned one of the listeners. 
British soldiers like these, who had been 
stationed in the city for only a few weeks, knew 
very little about affairs in the new land. Since 
coming to New York, these two had followed 
the strict military rule of their superiors, and 


124 “The Pursuit of Happiness ” 

in their free hours had taken what pleasure 
they could find in the city, without displaying 
any great interest in political affairs. The 
episode of the maps had opened their eyes more 
widely than anything else to the fact that there 
were things to be reckoned with in the city. 
The seething rebellion against England had 
only touched them to a minor degree, until to¬ 
day. Now, like thunder crashing out of a clear 
sky, came the news of the Colonies in arms. 

The two swung their legs contentedly, never¬ 
theless, and bade Charles continue. 

“ How did this General Washington get him¬ 
self at the head of these troops?” 

“You would have to go to my friend, David 
Henry, or to Captain Alexander Hamilton, to 
gain the full history of it,” replied Charles, 
curling his lip disdainfully. “ They could tell 
you the whole story, if the spirit moved them. 
I can only give you scattered parts, but here 
they are. These Colonists have held two meet¬ 
ings of what they are pleased to call the ‘ Con¬ 
tinental Congress.’ They were held for no 
other purpose than to discuss ways and means 
of withstanding English ‘ oppression ’ and deal¬ 
ing with Great Britain.” 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 125 

What!” ejaculated one of the redcoats. 
“ Deal with England ? Let them see how Eng¬ 
land will deal with them!” 

“ That is not to the point,” answered cool- 
witted Charles, who seemed admirably capable 
of controlling his temper. “ Perhaps the 
Colonies were taxed a little unfairly; — they 
never have forgotten that. And now this idea 
of governing themselves has become a down¬ 
right mania with them.” 

“ But politics are not our affair,” protested 
one of the men. “Back to George Washing¬ 
ton, Langley.” 

“ As I was saying,” continued Charles coolly, 
“there have been two meetings of this Conti¬ 
nental Congress, composed of delegates from 
every one of the thirteen colonies, who all seem 
to act as one now, after many individual out¬ 
breaks against the King of England. For 
instance, that excitable man, Patrick Henry, 
actually declared a state of war between Vir¬ 
ginia and England at the Bichmond convention 
not long ago. And only four weeks after that 
came the battle at Lexington, Massachusetts. 
You surely both know about that.” 

“Not very much,” answered one of the 



126 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

soldiers. “ And after all, what is there to know 
— except that there was a skirmish between His 
Majesty’s troops and a band of farmers? 
Langley, you think too long and seriously about 
matters like these.” 

“You may call those men of Lexington 
‘farmers.’ That they were, without a doubt; 
but they knew how to fight; and one must admit 
that they, and others like them, keep their eyes 
and ears open to what is happening. Well, 
when word went around that the King’s regu¬ 
lars were going to capture the military sup¬ 
plies— ” 

“Military supplies!” shouted one of the 
listeners. “Whose military supplies?” 

“ The military supplies collected by the 
colonial troops of Boston,” explained Charles. 
When the two had swallowed their surprise, and 
were listening again, he continued: “At Con¬ 
cord, they were set upon by these same farmers, 
and were driven back to their quarters in Bos¬ 
ton, with — ” and here the face of the narrator 
grew very grave — “a loss of three hundred 
men.” 

“ How did you learn all this? ” 

“ Such news travels fast. This was on the 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 127 

nineteenth of April; and on the night of the 
twentieth, the same thing happened down in 
Virginia. A force of His Majesty’s marines 
landed from a sloop in the James River, to take 
the gunpowder stored at Williamsburg. You 
see how these Colonists are hiding their war 
supplies everywhere. They have to be watched 
incessantly.” 

“ And what happened there? ” 

“ The Virginians, in turn, sprang to arms, and 
what do you suppose they demanded in their 
impudence? ” 

“ What? ” 

“ That same Captain Patrick Henry, at the 
head of a body of armed militia, made the royal 
troops pay for the powder they had taken! ” 
The soldiers sputtered. 

“ Every colony of the thirteen is up and doing 
in some way or other,” continued Charles. 
“ How England will handle them remains to 
be seen. On the very day that this second 
Congress met, didn’t a somebody calling him¬ 
self Ethan Allen walk into the open gates of 
our great fort, Ticonderoga, up in that cold 
region, Vermont, with another band of farmers 
and countrymen, all carrying their muskets, 


128 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

and calmly say that 4 in the Name of the Great 
Jehovah and the Continental Congress’ he 
would take the fort? They stop at nothing. 
England will have to treat them with a firm 
hand.” 

At this point there came the sound of quick 
marching feet, and the three men sprang to the 
window to see what was happening. 

One hundred men in uniform were marching 
briskly down Broadway, led by a slight young 
fellow, almost boyish in his appearance. 

“ It is that conceited Alexander Hamilton, 
with what he is pleased to call his 4 company ’,” 
exclaimed Charles with a sneer. 44 He is 
evidently going down to the wharf, thinking 
he will impress the Commander-in-Chief with 
his fine appearance.” 

44 Nevertheless, his men know how to march,” 
agreed the soldiers. After all, a soldier was a 
soldier, and these two knew little else beyond 
the various military formations which they had 
been taught. 

44 Well,” continued Charles, anxious that his 
flow of talk should not be interrupted for too 
long, 44 that brings us to the second meeting of 
this Congress I told you about. If you didn’t 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 129 

know it before, let me tell you now that every 
one of the thirteen colonies has a band of men 
ready to fight His Majesty’s troops. Why, I 
was told the other day that Boston alone has 
sixteen thousand troops. That second Con¬ 
gress met to select a leader for these troops, and 
they chose this Washington. They say he at¬ 
tended as a representative from Virginia, in the 
uniform of a colonel. I understand he does 
not talk overmuch, nor put himself in the fore 
of things. But in all the plans of that Con¬ 
gress to muster an army, to fortify different 
places, to get supplies, and the like, they turned 
to him, and to him alone. 

“It was Mr. John Adams, I am told, who 
actually named George Washington. Adams 
is a man who has been of infinite trouble to His 
Majesty’s Government, — he and his whole 
family. At any rate, he moved that the Conti¬ 
nental Congress adopt — that was his very 
word — “ adopt ” the Army at Cambridge; and 
he expressed the opinion that there was hut one 
gentleman who was fitted for its command. 
Then he named Colonel George Washington.” 

Here Charles drew a sheet of paper from his 
pocket, and read: 




130 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“‘1 have but one gentleman in mind for this 
great office; a gentleman very well known to 
all of us; a gentleman whose skill and experi¬ 
ence as an officer, whose independent fortune, 
great talents, and excellent universal character 
would command the approbation of all 
America, and unite the cordial exertions of all 
the colonies better than any other person.’ ” 

“ Why do you write down such things as that? 
What is that for, anyway?” asked one of the 
soldiers. 

“ This paper belongs in my collection of use¬ 
ful knowledge. It may be of great value to 
me some day,” answered their companion. 

The two asked him no more questions about 
his personal affairs. It was always hard to 
understand this clever, but vague, Charles 
Langley. 

“Well, what happened then?” 

“ Then this man Washington started to ride 
all the way from Philadelphia to Cambridge on 
horseback, to take command of the Army, as 
they call that conglomeration of ploughboys 
and blacksmiths. It was a clever trick they 
played — choosing a gentleman like that. For 
they do say that all the people look up to him. — 
And,” added Charles, “he is stopping here in 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 131 

New York to-day, on his way thither. That 
is what all the commotion is about.” 

Charles Langley was, no doubt, a person of 
divided interests. As a result of his task of 
keeping in touch with what was going on among 
the patriots, he had acquired a feeling of ad¬ 
miration for that group of intense young 
Americans among whom he moved in a social 
way. Of course, he was jealous of Captain 
Hamilton and David Henry; but he envied, 
with all his soul, their bravery and their keen 
intelligence, which had captured the imagina¬ 
tions of the young ladies and had won the ad¬ 
miration of their fellows. 

It was considered a mark of distinction 
among them to belong to the Sons of Liberty. 
It was not only to gain valuable knowledge that 
Charles had welcomed Peter Morton’s invita¬ 
tion to join him at one of their meeting-places. 
It was a means of satisfying his vanity, as well. 

For several reasons Charles had not referred, 
in his talk with the soldiers, to the celebration 
of the news of the Battle of Lexington, by these 
same Sons of Liberty; nor had he told how the 
little force of British regulars had remained 
within the precincts of Fort George, while the 


132 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

rejoicing spent itself in the streets; nor how, by 
command of the Royal Governor, it had been 
forbidden to interfere with the wild rebellion. 
These men, holding orders from overseas, were 
still bound to the policy of least resistance in 
New York, though some of them had already 
begun to question how long this policy would 
prove efficient. 

“So, then, there is really an American 
Army!” exclaimed one of the soldiers, sneer- 
ingly. “And that army has what it calls a 
leader. Has this wonderful piece of humanity 
ever been in New York before to-day? ” 

“ I have heard that he came here three years 
ago to put his young stepson in school,” an¬ 
swered Charles. “ Master Van Dam has both 
met and talked with him.” 

Down at Colonel Lispenard’s Wharf a great 
crowd had gathered. 

The Commander-in-Chief of the American 
Army, accompanied by Philip Schuyler and 
Charles Lee, was on his way from Philadelphia. 
A committee of several well-known men had 
already crossed to the Jersey shore, where they 
were to go as far as Newark to meet General 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 133 

Washington and escort him across the water. 

The June sun shone down upon the eager, 
watching multitude. The grounds around the 
Lispenard house were thronged with people. 
The air was vibrant with tense excitement. 

Up on the piazza were Mrs. Lansing and 
Sally; Mistress Van Dam and Neltje and 
Ottolene; Mrs. Morton and Clarissa; and many 
other wives and daughters of New York. 
Their men were scattered among the uni¬ 
formed troops on the shore, standing in solid 
rank to receive their Chief. 

There was Captain Hamilton’s group, with 
David Henry in the fore. There were the eight 
companies of the militia of the city, among 
whose rigid ranks were to be seen such figures 
as the Morton twins, Peter, Herbert Van 
Wyck, and Augustus Van Dam. On the out¬ 
skirts of the crowd was a phaeton, to which were 
harnessed two snow-white horses, which waited 
to carry New York’s famous visitor through 
the streets of the cheering city. 

At last, the barge came in sight, and the 
church-bells began to ring. As it drew near, 
the crowd along the shore set up a mighty shout, 
while the bells rang out a deafening peal. 


134 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

In the fore of the barge was a guard of 
soldiers, attired in black felt hats, buckskin 
breeches, red waistcoats, and blue coats faced 
with buff. For one instant these men stood 
at attention. Then they marched briskly 
ashore. 

A tall, powerful figure followed them. 
George Washington was dressed in buff and 
blue, too, and he carried a sword at his side. 
On his face was a look of infinite wisdom. 

David Henry had been deeply occupied in 
all that had been going on that day. Indeed, 
so swiftly had events moved during the last few 
days that he had had little intercourse with the 
gay young set of whom he was so fond. The 
social was the one affair which he might have 
attended, and now he was anxious beyond meas¬ 
ure to know the outcome of Sally’s attempt to 
restore the maps. 

When the festivities of welcome to General 
Washington were over, it was far too late to 
go to the Lansings’ home, so he was obliged to 
content himself with a visit to the coffee house, 
where a number of the Sons of Liberty were 
gathered. 

“ There is ample guard around the General, 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 135 

is there not? ” asked the first man he met as he 
went in. 

“More than ample. The finest soldiers in 
the city are near him, taking turns in guarding 
his very shadow,” answered David, sitting 
down among three or four friends, among whom 
happened to be Peter Morton. 

“Was there ever a man like him before! ” the 
boy exclaimed. His face was white with ex¬ 
citement. 

“ God be praised that such a man has been 
raised up to guide us!” ejaculated David, by 
way of reply. Then, turning to the boy, of 
whom he was very fond, he queried: “ Then you 
think General Washington looks like a great 
soldier, Peter?” 

“ The very sight of him, his face, his walk, 
the way he holds himself, the way he speaks, — 
these are with me all the time,” exclaimed the 
boy. “ How long do you suppose he will stay 
in New York, David?” 

“ Captain Hamilton seems to think he will 
not be here long. He must hurry on to take 
command of the big army that Boston has 
raised; and as all the colonies are now one, 
Peter, that means, of course, — as they ex- 


136 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

pressed it in the Continental Congress — of all 
the Colonial troops. Captain Hamilton also 
says that he will probably leave General Philip 
Schuyler in charge of our troops here.” 

“ Then New York will have a General of its 
own! ” 

“ Yes,” answered David. “ You seem to be 
highly pleased at that, Peter.” 

The boy flushed at the bantering tone. 
Why did the older folks always try to tease 
him whenever they talked to him, and when he 
was trying so hard to be a man? Sixteen was 
grown up, after all. Captain Hamilton was 
no older when he first began drilling his com¬ 
pany down at the Battery. 

His heart bounded with satisfaction, how¬ 
ever, when David turned to him with an air of 
confidence. 

“Tell me, Peter, were you at Sally Lans¬ 
ing’s party last night?” 

“Yes, I was. And a grand good time we 
had. I won the men’s prize.” 

“Good for you! What were some of the 
games you played?” 

“We played only one game.” 

Peter told, with great enthusiasm, of the 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 137 

making of the maps and of the large part he 
had played in the merrymaking. 

“ I tell you,” he said “ I feel sorry for that 
fellow, Charles Langley. He doesn’t know 
how to act among people. He’s awkward and 
queer. So, when he became interested in my 
map and in what we fellows were doing, I told 
him where our next meeting would be, and 
asked him to join the Sons of Liberty. It’s — ” 

But Peter Morton was not allowed to go any 
farther in his analysis of the character of 
Charles Langley; for David had grasped him 
by the shoulders and was talking to him in a 
manner in which Peter had never heard him 
speak before. 

“ Peter Morton! You young fool! Don’t 
you know that now, above all times, no mention 
must be made of our band, or what they do, or 
where they hold their meetings; not to any¬ 
one, unless by his words and actions we know 
of a surety that he is one of us! Do you know 
that Charles Langley is a spy, a British spy? 
Do you know that he used cunning devices to 
keep me away from that gathering last night, 
so that he could gain information about the 
city and the doings of the patriots from you 



138 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

unsuspecting folk? Even now, those maps 
may be in the hands of Governor Tryon; and he 
and his military advisers may be examining 
them and laying plans by which all our best 
efforts may be frustrated! ” 

“ Oh, David! ” breathed the boy, in anguish. 
“ I didn’t think Charles was that! David, tell 
me what I can do.” 

“Nothing can be done until to-morrow. I 
trust that Sally has recovered the papers. But 
if, by any chance, she was not able, I shall de¬ 
pend upon you, Peter.” 

“Oh, thank you, David! I hope Sally 
hasn’t got them! That would be real soldier’s 
work, wouldn’t it?” 

David had to smile at the boy’s upturned face. 

“ Yes,” he answered, “ but I hope it has been 
done already. There’ll be plenty left for you 
to do, Peter.” 

With this, the member of Hamilton’s guard 
took his leave of the coffee house; and Peter 
Morton made his way home, his heart pounding 
with excitement. This had been a great day 
in his life. He had had a sight of General 
Washington. And David Henry had taken 
him into his counsel, had confided in him, and 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 139 

had entrusted him with a soldier’s errand, in 
case that errand should have to be performed. 

David forthwith spread the news of Charles 
Langley. By the following day, the Sons of 
Liberty were made aware of the identity of the 
young man who had been moving among them 
for several weeks. 

“ There is much Tory sentiment here in New 
York, in spite of the splendid welcome General 
Washington received to-day,” Augustus Van 
Dam declared, as he sat with his wife and 
daughters, talking over the events of the day 
that had just passed. “ ’Tis that that makes me 
anxious, good wife, despite the strides our Army 
is making in preparation for what may come.” 

This peace-loving man had long since donned 
a uniform, and speculation was rife in this whole 
household as to the trend of military matters all 
through the Colonies. 

“ While Boston has seen the most of the fight¬ 
ing so far,” he continued, “I think New York 
is due for an attack before long. Look at our 
approach by water. And does not this town 
hold the key of entrance to the Hudson River, 
and its connections with the north country? 
The British can enter this great harbor when 


140 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

they please. And there is Long Island, a fit 
landing-place for the enemy troops to go ashore 
and bide their time. I trust the General will 
not give all his thought to Boston. Much as 
that city’s untrained army needs a polished 
soldier, still do our troops here need him as 
much.” 

Neltje and Ottolene listened and were very 
quiet. They were both tired from the excite¬ 
ment and the crowds and the clapping and the 
cheering; and what their father was saying only 
deepened the seriousness of their thoughts. 

The great General had come among them 
that day. He had honored New York in a 
signal manner, by coming here at the outset 
of his journey as Commander-in-Chief. But 
what was all this talking and planning of train¬ 
ing raw troops, of guarding important points 
of land, of New York being unprotected? 
What could it all mean, if not war? 

The girls bade their parents good night, and 
went silently upstairs to bed. 

“ What will General Washington do? Will 
he train all those men to fight?” asked round¬ 
eyed Ottolene, after a while. 

She had exulted in tales of such men as 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 141 

Patrick Henry. But if war really came to 
New York, as it had to Boston, her father and 
David Henry and all the boys she knew would 
go to the fight. There would be no more peace, 
nor happiness, nor good times. The girl’s 
heart was heavy with dread. 

“ Don’t worry, dear,” said Neltje. “ Every¬ 
thing will end peacefully and well.” 

“ But I do worry,” answered the child. “ The 
British have thousands of soldiers here in New 
York, and people do say that more are on the 
way, and that England will conquer us 
‘ rebels ’ if it takes the last man in her king¬ 
dom.” 

The pathetic little voice broke in a sob, and 
in an instant Neltje’s arms were around her 
sister. 

“ Ottolene! How can you be troubled about 
anything like that, now that General Washing¬ 
ton has charge of our affairs? ” 

“ He will win for us, won’t he, Neltje? ” 

“ He will,” answered the older girl. And, as 
sleep came to the sisters, their hearts were quiet 
at the thought of the great guiding hand which 
had laid its touch upon New York that day. 


CHAPTER VI 


“ Fooled by a woman, and not the first time, 
I warrant,” scoffed a redcoat who had been 
frequenting Charles Langley’s room. 

The latter had passed the afternoon in a kind 
of exultation over the events of the past twenty- 
four hours. His social success at Sally’s party, 
followed by the rapt attention that his two 
comrades of the morning had given his account 
of events in the Colonies, had greatly eased the 
sting of his failure to regain the maps, and had 
filled the young man with a radiant content in 
himself which was very pleasing to his vanity. 

Now this content was being briskly dispelled 
by a hard-headed and irate visitor from His 
Majesty’s troops. 

“And why are you so certain I’m fooled?” 
he asked peevishly, throwing his hat into a chair. 
“ This town has gone wild over the arrival of 
that arch-rebel from Virginia. There wasn’t 
a soul in sight at the Lansings’ when I went 
to the house this morning. Wait until you’ve 

142 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 143 

cut a hole in your whistle, sir, before you try 
to blow through it.” 

“ If there wasn’t a soul in sight at that house, 
as you say, then you should have broken down 
the door, and taken those papers,” declared the 
soldier. “You’re too much of a milksop, 
Langley. A clever deed is worth nothing till 
it is carried to a successful close. I am willing 
to admit that you gained some useful informa¬ 
tion in an original manner. But then to spoil 
it like this! Zounds! You’d try the patience 
of Job!” 

“ I’ll get those papers back as soon as I can 
see Sally Lansing again,” replied Charles, with 
a return of his old boastful manner. “ Let me 
tell you this. She and her mother live only 
for pleasure. I can read them like a book. 
Glancing over those maps would mean a half- 
hour’s diversion for Mistress Lansing. Per¬ 
haps she would recall by them some scene of 
her own vain girlhood, some flirtation or the 
like; and then they would be cast aside and 
would be gone from her mind.” 

“ Into the waste basket, or, more likely, into 
the fire,” commented the soldier, bitterly. 
“And there was information which you had 


144 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

safely in your hands, and which might very 
possibly have been of infinite value to the 
Royal troops. The armed forces of His 
Majesty are sorely tried by the cunning and 
impudence of these scheming Colonists. You 
could be of infinite assistance through your in¬ 
timacy with that set of them, you know.” 

“ I’ve told you I asked Sally Lansing to give 
those papers back to me,” persisted Charles, 
“ when she and her mother should finish amusing 
themselves with them. And that young lady 
generally does as I ask. Have you considered 
that it is just possible that in coming for them 
she had a chance of — er — seeing me?” 

“ Conceit is a warming and pleasing thing to 
all those who possess it,” was all the enraged 
soldier could say in reply; and, highly irritated, 
he took himself out of the room and back to his 
barracks. 

For the British troops in the city, this had 
been a bitter and anxious time. His Majesty’s 
true servant, Governor William Tryon, had 
chosen this very day to appear in New York, 
and had arrived at almost the same hour as 
General Washington. Although Loyalists and 
Colonists alike had combined in the effort to 




“The Pursuit of Happiness” 145 

keep the welcome of one from interfering with 
the other, the reception that was given the 
Commander of the American troops could not 
escape the notice of the Governor. 

George Washington’s name had been on all 
lips this evening. The throngs in the streets 
could talk of nothing else but his coming and 
his appearance, of the dignity with which he 
bore himself, of the look of wisdom and be¬ 
nignity on his face, and of their feeling of con¬ 
fidence in the man. Englishmen well knew 
what constituted a great soldier and a leader 
of men, and they were sorely anxious. 

Then there was the loss of those maps. The 
knowledge of these had gone farther than even 
Charles Langley had suspected. And they 
would have been such a delightful token of 
welcome for the new Governor on his arrival in 
the city. 

As for General Washington himself, he lost 
no time in ordering what seemed to him to be 
the most suitable arrangement of the military 
affairs of New York. 

His first act, when the ceremonies of welcome 
were over, was, as Master Van Dam had 
expected, to appoint Philip Schuyler, one of 


146 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

his four Major-Generals, in command of the 
New York militia. 

On the second, and last, day of his visit, he 
called upon the Provincial Congress, then in 
session, to “ discuss the military aspects of the 
situation,” as he expressed it to Colonel 
Lispenard. 

For, no matter how the British troops might 
jeer and sneer at the “ ploughboy army”; no 
matter how eloquently British statesmen might 
argue that this passion for self-government was 
only a fitful fever from which the Colonies were 
suffering, and one that would soon abate; still, 
the men of America were asserting their rights 
with loaded muskets. The Colonies were in a 
state of war with England. 

Two months before General Washington 
arrived in New York, the battles of Concord 
and Lexington had taken place. That band of 
valiant New England farmers, firing from 
behind trees and stone walls, and putting the 
drilled troops of mighty England to the rout, 
had been instrumental in drawing together men 
from all the colonies. The patriots had 
gathered from every quarter of the land, bring¬ 
ing their military supplies with them, and 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 147 

straining every nerve to assist Boston in her 
opposition to the unfair government overseas. 
They were determined to fight to the end. 

These forces had fought together in the 
Battle of Bunker Hill, the news of which was 
now spreading throughout the country. The 
Continental Army was definitely formed, and 
New York’s quota of men for its ranks was 
now being filled from the active citizens of the 
city, otherwise known as the Sons of Liberty. 

Augustus Van Dam had been chosen to act 
as one of the guards of honor for General 
Washington, while the latter was in New 
York; and he had seen and heard all that went 
on in the council chamber of the Provincial Con¬ 
gress. 

“ It would have done thy soul good to hear 
the Representatives acclaim that great man,” 
he told his wife, as he sat in his old seat by the 
fire. “And if you could have heard General 
Washington, himself, speak! Upon my word, 
it gives a man confidence to do or die! Listen, 
Mother and Neltje and Ottolene, to the exact 
words he spoke at that meeting. He said: 
4 Having once drawn the sword, I do not expect 
to sheathe it without establishing American 


148 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

Liberty on its most firm and solid foundation.’ 
’Tis he, and he alone, who can guide us to the 
end we seek.” 

“ I would he could have made New York his 
headquarters,” said Mistress Van Dam. “ He 
was here such a short time.” 

“Boston hath need of him. But, from all 
I hear, when he has rounded up that army in 
battle array, he will come and organize our 
troops here.” 

“ Such days as have befallen us! ” exclaimed 
his wife. This constant talk of war was agony 
to her ears. 

Her husband heard the despairing note in 
her voice; and, as Neltje went to her mother’s 
side and clung to her arm, he rose from his chair 
to fetch a paper from the mantelpiece. 

“Listen to me, Mother!” he exclaimed, as 
he unfolded it in his hands. “ Thou needest a 
little yeast to thy dough. Hast ever heard of 
Thomas Paine, a friend of Benjamin Frank¬ 
lin?” 

“ Why, yes; of course I have, Augustus. So 
have you girls, have you not? ” 

“Indeed, we have,” answered both Neltje 
and Ottolene, glad of any excuse to divert their 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 149 

mother from pondering too much upon the 
possibility of war in New York. 

“ What about him, Augustus ? ” asked she. 

“ He has written a pamphlet on Common 
Sense, which was distributed among the militia 
of all the colonies last week. I had meant to 
read it to you long since, but the preparations 
for the coming of General Washington put all 
such things out of my head. Listen to it now. 
Some one has said the pamphlet is worth a whole 
army corps to America.” 

Master Van Dam’s voice waxed eloquent, as 
he read extracts from the slender booklet he 
held in his hand. 

What are you afraid of ? ’ ” his stentorian 
voice proclaimed. “ 4 Our present numbers of 
soldiers are sufficient to repel great forces. 
Debts we have none. No country in the world 
is so happily situated or so internally capable of 
raising a fleet as America. Our knowledge is 
hourly improving. Revolution is our inherent 
character, and courage hath never yet forsaken 
us. The present time is the true time to es¬ 
tablish union, and that peculiar time which 
never happens to a nation but once — of form¬ 
ing itself into a Government.’ Does not that 


150 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

put new heart into thee, Mother?” asked 
Master Van Dam. 

“Yes, it does, Augustus. Those are brave 
words. Mayhap the times of peace and hap¬ 
piness will come again. Mayhap they are not 
as far away as we think.” 

“ And mayhap they will be happier and more 
peaceful than any days that have ever dawned 
on this fair earth,” exclaimed her husband, 
“when this bright land belongs to us Ameri¬ 
cans— nay — is America, herself, free and in¬ 
dependent of any power save God’s and her 
own.” 

Ottolene was listening with rapt attention to 
her father. 

“ And thou canst express thy soul in gladness, 
good wife, that we have on our side in this 
conflict the finest men the Creator ever cast in 
human mold. Look at my friend, Philip 
Schuyler, at the head of the New York troops, 
— as fine a man as ever breathed. Then there is 
Nathaniel Greene from Rhode Island, the 
second in command under General Washing¬ 
ton, and, I am told, second only to him in skill 
and wisdom. And, Mother and daughters, 
what think ye? ” 




“The Pursuit of Happiness” 151 

“What — what is it?” came breathlessly 
from all three. 

“ I had meant to tell you this before, too; but 
my mind has been too full of other things to 
come near it. One of the generals saw 
Alexander Hamilton drilling on Bowling 
Green this morning, and — so the story goes — 
stood and watched him with great approbation; 
and, before he left, he introduced our young 
Captain to General Washington, who, it is said, 
was vastly pleased with his military skill and 
his keen brains, as well as with his winning man¬ 
ners.” 

“ Oh-h! ” cried the girls, their eyes sparkling 
and dancing in the way their father loved to 
see. “ And did he see David, too, do you sup- 
pose? 

“ That I cannot tell. David will let us know 
more about it when we see him. Captain 
Hamilton’s band is now counted among the best 
and bravest in the Colonies. I have also heard 
that it is to be made an artillery unit. But more 
of this again, when we see and talk to David.” 

“ Oh, I do wonder if he went with Captain 
Hamilton to see the great General,” exclaimed 
Neltje. But they were all obliged to wonder 




152 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

and wait in vain, for no sign of the young man 
did the family have that night. 

Indeed, his hours at home were now fewer 
than Augustus Van Dam’s had become. 
Alexander Hamilton exacted long and arduous 
practice from his men; and when the duties of 
a soldier were not demanding his attention, 
David was in close company with his command¬ 
ing officer, or with other active men of the 
group. 

These men talked among themselves about 
the very topics upon which Master Van Dam 
had spoken so earnestly, that night following 
George Washington’s departure from New 
York. The unprotected state of the island, 
surrounded by great waterways on two sides, 
and with the waves of the ocean lapping its 
southern boundary, had long been the subject 
of anxious thought among these Sons of 
Liberty. 

Every one of them, by this time, knew of the 
making of the maps, and of Charles Langley’s 
treachery; and word had gone out among them 
all that he should be henceforth regarded as an 
outcast and an enemy. The thought of those 
papers which the strange fellow had carried 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 153 

away with him from Sally’s party, and of the 
crafty way in which he had caused the young 
people to make the maps, had tortured David 
Henry’s thoughts ever since he had discovered 
what had happened. Even during the exciting 
visit of General Washington, the knowledge of 
what had taken place and of how he had been 
outwitted had rankled in David’s heart. 

At his first opportunity, David hurried again 
to Sally Lansing’s home. It was so late at 
night that he feared he might find everything 
in darkness; but, strangely enough, the house 
was brilliantly lighted. As David went up the 
path that lead from the street to the front door, 
a man came hurriedly out of the house. In 
spite of the mild weather, this man wore an 
overcoat, the collar of which was turned up, 
perhaps to hide the sight of his face. 

But there was no mistaking the peculiarity in 
Charles Langley’s walk, and David knew at 
once who Sally’s late visitor had been. 

“Halt!” commanded David. 

But Charles had caught sight of the tall 
soldier the instant he had left the house, and he 
was prepared for this sudden reception. With 
a quick, twisting movement, he stepped into the 


154 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

shrubbery beside the path, and disappeared in 
the darkness. 

“Halt before I fire!” commanded David 
again. He was starting in pursuit of his man, 
when the light from the open door was suddenly 
obscured. David looked around and saw the 
Lansings’ old colored manservant, standing on 
the threshold with a gun in his hand. 

“Don’t shoot, Abel,” he said quietly. At 
the sound of the well-known voice, the old 
darky drew back with a sigh of relief. 

“ Praise de Lord you hab come, Marse 
David,” he exclaimed. 

“ What is the meaning of that, Abel? ” asked 
the young soldier sharply, pointing to the 
musket which was still clasped in the faithful 
brown hands. “ And who was that man who 
just left this house?” 

“ Dat man am Marse Charles Langley,” an¬ 
swered Abel, with infinite scorn. 

“ And what was he doing here at this hour of 
the night, that you had to follow him out of the 
house with a musket pointing at his miserable 
back? Speak up, Abel! There is no time to 
be lost!” 

“ Marse Charles Langley,” continued Abel, 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 155 

“ he ben talkin’ ter Miss Sally lak no gen’leman 
should. An’ when she tol’ him ter go, an he 
still kep on talkin’, I tuk dis yere gun o’ Marse 
Lansing’s — an’ he went.” 

“ Good for you, Abel,” exclaimed David, his 
face breaking into a smile for just an instant. 
“Now go and tell Miss Sally I would like to 
see her for a minute.” f 

Sally Lansing needed no messenger to bring 
her to the spot, for she had been standing in the 
drawing-room with burning cheeks, ever since 
Charles Langley had been driven forth by the 
irate Abel. 

“The maps, Sally, the maps!” exclaimed 
David. They were his only thought, for the 
time. 

“Oh, David! They have been destroyed. 
They were burned to ashes early yesterday 
morning. There is nothing to worry about on 
that score. But what a time I have had!” 
The girl was as pale as a ghost. David led her 
back into the room and sat down beside her, 
looking at her with anxious eyes. 

“ Sally, tell me all that has happened since I 
saw you. But first of all, did that villain come 
to get the maps back from you? ” 



156 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“ He did, David. He tried to get them 
back on the plea that the English soldiers — two 
or three of them who were in his apartment and 
are his special friends — have such long hours 
off duty that they would enjoy studying them, 
and that in so doing they would learn a great 
deal about the new world. At first, I thought 
I would hold the truth from him, and pretend to 
take the matter lightly — perhaps let him think 
I had mislaid them. But I told no lie, David.” 

“ I am sure you did not, my dear. But on 
with your story, please, Sally.” 

“Well, when Charles grew more and more 
persistent, I told him I had burned them, be¬ 
cause there was information in them that might 
be dangerous to our men if the British gained 
possession of it. Then, David, he began to rail 
in a manner which I had not thought possible 
of Charles Langley.” 

“What were some of the things he said to 
you, Sally?” 

“ He said that I was born of an English 
father, for one thing; that I had turned traitor 
to the land he loved; that were I of true blood I 
would tell him all he wanted to know about the 
Sons of Liberty. I could not find a word to 




“The Pursuit of Happiness” 157 

answer, he talked so fast and so long. And 
then, at last, Abel came in, and drove him out in 
a fine wrath.” 

“Scoundrel!” ejaculated David. 

“He is not true to the American Cause,” 
declared Sally, the hot color coming into her 
cheeks again. “ He is not on the side of the 
Colonies.” 

“I know it!” exclaimed David, gritting his 
teeth. “And there are plenty more like him. 
Our city is besieged with them. How did you 
get the papers back, Sally?” 

The troubled expression on the young man’s 
face vanished in smiles, as he listened to Sally’s 
story of her visit to Charles Langley’s room. 
As she ended with the account of burning the 
papers in her mother’s fireplace, he grasped her 
hands in his. 

“Sally! Sally Lansing! You Daughter of 
Liberty! You deserve to wear a dress of buff 
and blue.” 

“ Oh, no, David! But let us stop talking of 
this miserable business, and tell me what Gen¬ 
eral Washington said to you and Captain 
Hamilton. I am so anxious to know! Please 
tell me, David. I hear he was greatly pleased 


158 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

with Alexander, and with a tall member of that 
young gentleman’s band.” 

“ Another time, Sally. Another time I will 
tell you every word he spoke, for they shall be 
burned in my memory forever. But I must not 
keep you up any longer, and besides, I must 
be on my way.” 

Bidding Sally good night, David hurried 
directly to Charles Langley’s lodging-house. 
Late as it was, he knocked at the door until he 
had roused Mrs. deVeaux and Julie out of their 
beds. But they told him that Mr. Langley had 
paid his board in full, and had given up his 
room, and that they had not the faintest idea 
where he could be found. 

“ If only his memory fails him when it comes 
to the information he gained from those maps,” 
breathed David to himself. “ He is not over 
familiar with the city itself, although he seems 
to know something of political affairs. At any 
rate, the redcoats didn’t have much time to 
examine the maps.” 

With scant comfort from his evening’s work, 
David made his way back to the barracks to 
reveal these latest developments to Alexander 
Hamilton. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 159 

“ One must learn to look twice, and then twice 
over again, at one’s best friends these days.” 

This piece of wisdom was set forth by Clarissa 
Morton, a few days after all these stirring 
events had taken place, as she and Sally and 
Neltje sat together in the big sunny drawing¬ 
room of Sally’s home. 

Mrs. Lansing had sent messages to Neltje 
and Clarissa the day before, inviting them to 
come in the morning and to spend the day. 
“ And be as bright and merry as ever you can,” 
she had written at the end of her notes, “ for 
Sally is sore downcast over some events which 
have taken place.” 

David had not told the girls the tale of the 
maps, but they had not been in the Lansing 
house half an hour, before they had heard the 
whole story from Sally. 

“ It isn’t that I mind so much losing Charles 
Langley from our set, now that I know he is a 
traitor to the Cause of Liberty,” she concluded, 
holding her head high, while the other two girls 
listened intently. “ But it’s the sudden shat¬ 
tering of my respect for him that makes it hard. 
Isn’t it strange that the things you can’t see or 
touch are the things that you care most about? 


160 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

Just think, girls. Tea is not wrong in itself. 
Stamped paper was not wrong in itself. ’Tis 
only the thought of the oppressive will that 
tried to exact money from us by means of taxing 
those things that troubled us.” 

“I verily believe that Mr. Jay and the 
Livingstons would put you girls in the Pro¬ 
vincial Congress — nay, in the Continental 
Congress itself — if they could hear your 
learned reasoning,” laughed Mrs. Lansing 
delightedly. She had been sitting near her 
daughter, listening with the greatest interest 
to all that had been said. “ But come now, 
girls; lay aside your knitting and your too 
serious talk for a while. Here comes Abel with 
the goodies.” 

Joyful at seeing his beloved young mistress 
smiling once more, Abel had outdone himself in 
heaping cakes and sweetmeats on the great 
silver tray, which he now carried into the draw¬ 
ing-room with great pomp and ceremony. 

In the midst of the gaiety that ensued, David 
Henry appeared for a call, accompanied by 
another soldier. Leaving his companion in 
the hall for a moment, he went in to speak to the 
gay group. 




“The Pursuit of Happiness” 161 

“Sally, Neltje, Clarissa!” he exclaimed, 
after making a low bow over Mrs. Lansing’s 
outstretched hand. “ I have a surprise for you. 
When will you be ready to receive it? ” 

“Now! ” chorused the girls with excitement. 

David disappeared into the hall, and pres¬ 
ently returned with no less a person than 
Captain Nathan Hale, of South Coventry, 
Connecticut. 

After the first greetings, what a chattering 
and questioning began! There were questions 
about all the people the three girls had met 
during that happy visit, several years ago, at 
the Hale home. There was chattering about 
things which they had not thought of since they 
left New England, but which were now recalled 
to them with greater force than ever. 

“ The winters are so cold up there, Mother,” 
explained Sally, “ that the stable and the horses 
are all under the same roof with the house.” 

“ What a cozy and comfortable place it must 
be,” commented Mrs. Lansing, with great 
politeness. Inwardly, she shivered at the 
thought of the northern climate and of the 
methods resorted to for the maintenance of 
warmth for man and beast. 


162 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“ I can think of no finer spot on earth than 
a New England farmstead,” agreed the young 
schoolmaster fervently. 

Then, urged by the little group around him, 
he told them of his studies, and of the pupils in 
his school; of his brother, who had gone into the 
ministry of the church; of his family and his 
home. But he talked also of the Cause of the 
Colonies; of the passionate desire for self-gov¬ 
ernment, for which the Colonists were ready to 
die; and of the Commander of the Army, who 
had summoned him to New York to do a special 
task for him. 

“ God has sent General Washington to us in 
our hour of need,” Nathan Hale declared. 
“ Such wisdom and goodness and perseverance 
in one man is almost unbelievable.” 

The two men tarried as long as they were 
able, and then took their leave, while Neltje and 
Clarissa remained at the Lansing home for the 
night. It was not pleasant, in these days, for 
a woman to be out after dark without an escort. 

Indeed, New York was now very different 
in appearances and habits from what it had been 
twenty years before, when Augustus Van Dam 
and his wife were married in Saint Mark’s 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 163 

Church in the Bowerie Lane. The patriots 
had done everything in their power to guard 
against a sudden attack from the enemy troops. 
But their thorough work had marred the beauty 
and destroyed the peace of the town. Every 
cross-street was barricaded in some fashion. A 
high stone barrier reached across Broadway at 
the Bowling Green. There was a redoubt over 
the Hudson River, west of Trinity Church, and 
a larger one at Grand and Centre Streets, 
which the New Yorkers had proudly named 
“ Bunker Hill.” A fort had been built farther 
up the North River, and another over on 
Brooklyn Heights; and besides these, the un¬ 
tiring troops had dug ditches and thrown up 
earthworks at almost every corner. 

Where no other means of defense by block¬ 
ade could be formed, trees had been cut down 
and thrown across the streets and paths of the 
city. The old pear tree in Augustus Van 
Dam’s garden, together with a tall elm, both of 
which had been his pride, had disappeared from 
the green and flowery spot where they had 
stood so many years. With his own hands 
Master Van Dam had felled the trees; but if 
the blows of the axe smote his heart as they did 


164 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

the trunks of the trees, there was no sign of it 
on his face as he toiled. 

And now, the latest news from the enemy was 
that Governor Tryon was attempting to 
persuade all the gunsmiths in New York to 
emigrate to England! 

“ The British would undermine General 
Washington and his Army, as one would pull 
a ladder from under a man,” stormed young 
Peter Morton. “ Take our gunsmiths to Eng¬ 
land to fashion weapons to turn against free 
men! ” 

The ire of the Colonists knew no bounds. 
They were inhaling the first breaths of a new 
freedom. Fetters of any kind, just or unjust, 
were intolerable. 

The pamphlet which Master Van Dam had 
read with such gusto to his wife, to cheer her 
drooping spirits, very soon came to be the creed 
of all New York; and most men searched in 
vain for words to express their feelings towards 
the King and Parliament of England. 

Alexander Hamilton, with his pen seemingly 
dipped in flame, was blazing public opinion to 
lofty heights, in his articles in the newspapers. 
The Tories undertook to answer in the same 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 165 

daily columns; and a war of words ensued, 
during those days when New York stood on 
the brink of the great struggle. 

Finally, a letter was set forth in no uncertain 
terms and was published in the city. It was 
posted in the names of the King of England and 
the Royal Governor of New York, and con¬ 
tained what they most devoutly believed to be 
the rights of the English Government. 

The night following this posting, David 
Henry sat in Jasper Drake’s Tavern with a 
group of soldiers. This hospitable spot had 
seen many gatherings since the days of the 
Stamp Act Riots. The young men looked 
forward to the arrival of other comrades before 
the evening was over. There were men of 
affairs and men of action who would doubtless 
join them, knowing that they would learn about 
those current events of which they had not 
already been informed. 

Very early in the evening there came the 
sound of shuffling feet and the cries of exultant 
Sons of Liberty. James Morton, the Pauld¬ 
ing boys, Herbert Van Wyck, and a host 
of others, headed by Captain Lamb, came into 
the tavern with shouts of triumph. 


166 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“We have them all!” cried Lamb, bringing 
down his fist on the bare wooden table, around 
which the soldiers were sitting. 

“ All what?” exclaimed David Henry. 

“ The copies of the messages of the Tories, 
and nothing else! We have the first one that 
came out, and the printers’ copies, too, — all of 
them! We went to the London Press and took 
them! And not one moment longer shall they 
see the light of day! ” 

Captain Lamb carried the big roll of print¬ 
ing to the fireplace. A great shout went up 
from the crowd of men, as the flames licked 
around the papers, and the words of the Tories 
were reduced to ashes. 

“Now for our answer!” shouted Lamb, as 
he laid a fresh sheet of foolscap on the table and 
began to write. 

When he had finished he turned to David, 
and held out the freshly written sheet. 

“ Will you read it to the assembled company, 
sir?” he said. 

“With the greatest of pleasure,” answered 
David eagerly. He had been keenly curious 
to know what this was all about. 

Scanning the words hastily, he read aloud: 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 167 

“ ‘ Sir, if you suffer to be printed in your press 
anything against the rights and liberties of 
America, or in favour of our inveterate foes, the 
King, Ministry, and Parliament of Great 
Britain, then death and destruction, ruin and 
perdition, shall be your portion. 

Signed by order of the Committee of 
Tarring and Feathering. 

“ 4 Legion.’ ” 

David could hardly conceal a smile as he read. 

To be sure, this paper was not in the manner 
of General Washington or Nathaniel Greene 
or Mr. John Jay, in their dealings with the 
enemy; but these men standing before him, 
these Sons of Liberty, struggling for the right, 
as it had been given them to see the right, were 
as true patriots as might be found in America. 

“Where is this to be taken?” he asked, 
although he could well imagine what the des¬ 
tination of the paper would be. 

“ To the owner of the London PressT came 
the reply. “ Perhaps that will teach him how 
best to roast his goose.” And once again the 
uproarious crowd surged into the street, bear¬ 
ing with them their ultimatum to the King’s 
printer. 


CHAPTER VII 


General Washington, bending all his efforts 
towards organizing the troops that were to con¬ 
stitute the Army of Boston, was, at the same 
time, keenly watching all that was going on in 
the other colonies. 

He had heard of the preparations of Sir 
Henry Clinton to leave Boston and move upon 
New York. None knew better than Wash¬ 
ington what a balance-wheel of the Nation this 
once peaceful little Dutch trading town had 
now become. And New York had not soldiers 
enough of her own to protect her from an at¬ 
tack. 

He had urged Congress to make the city 
secure with troops from New Jersey, but this 
had not been done. So the Commander-in - 
Chief took matters into his own hands. Yield¬ 
ing to the fervent plea of General Charles Lee, 
that he be allowed the honor of defending New 
York against the British, General Washington 

168 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 169 

despatched him with all haste from Boston. 

General Lee started in high spirits. As he 
passed through Connecticut, he gathered two 
additional regiments of men to augment the 
New York force. On the very borders of New 
York however, he was stopped by a messenger 
from the city. 

The conservative and deliberate Committee 
of Safety in New York had sent letters to him 
posthaste to warn him that there were British 
ships in the harbor, and that there were strong 
forces of British troops in the town, together 
with a burning Tory sympathy among many 
of the inhabitants. A sudden action now, the 
letters argued, unless carefully planned, might 
result in the loss of the city. 

New York, meanwhile, was gradually com¬ 
ing to the end of her patience. General Lee 
chafed at the enforced delay in Connecticut. 
The Committee wrote to him again, at greater 
length than before, stating that they had sent 
for more powder to be on hand and within reach, 
and that they now had entrenching tools, six 
brass field pieces, and provisions for five 
thousand men for at least a month. Captain 
Alexander Hamilton was turning his company 


170 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

into one of artillery, and the Committee were 
making carriages for their other guns. 

With all this to assist in his defense, General 
Lee could see that he would be more successful 
if he waited, than if he marched down with his 
volunteer troops from New England, especially 
as his men had been in training only six short 
weeks. 

But the wily English General had other 
plans. He did not propose to attack New 
York just at present. Although he and his 
fleet, and his brother, the Admiral, appeared 
in the harbor on that very Sunday early in 
February on which General Lee, led to believe 
that preparations for him were now complete, 
marched into the town from Westchester, there 
was no clash of arms. 

After a call from Governor Try on on board 
his ship, the Englishman sailed away to South 
Carolina. 

“ They say,” declared Alexander Hamilton 
to David Henry on the evening of that same 
day, “ that General Howe explained that he 
was disappointed not to land in the city, for he 
came only on a friendly visit.” 

David grimaced in answer to this news. No 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 171 

one knew what to make of it all; but General 
Lee lost no time in putting up more fortifica¬ 
tions in the city. 

And what a town was New York to protect! 

“ What am I to do? ” he asked, almost in des¬ 
pair. “ How am I to defend completely a 
place surrounded on three sides by deep water, 
against an enemy who controls the sea? ” 

The first thing to be done was to build de¬ 
fenses which would, at least, hamper the land¬ 
ing of troops from the British ships. The Hell 
Gate passage was forthwith blocked by a fort 
on Hoorn’s Hook. Batteries were placed at 
the foot of Catherine Street and at Coenties 
Slip. It was thought that these, with the aid 
of Fort George and the batteries on Long 
Island, would prevent a long sojourn of any 
British fleet in the harbor. 

All the streets which led to the North River 
were barricaded, while smaller fortifications, 
as far as Kingsbridge, would block any advance 
from that quarter. As these fortifications in¬ 
creased, so did the number of soldiers multiply. 

“ Our Army in New York now counts four 
thousand men,” Master Van Dam declared 
proudly to his wife and daughters. 


172 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

Leaders came and went. The Continental 
Congress sent General Lee to command the 
Army of the Carolinas; and General Sterling, 
a New Yorker by birth, took over the defense of 
the city. 

The Committee of Safety ordered the whole 
male population of the city out, to work on the 
fortifications. Major General Putnam was 
sent to take command. The American Army, 
lacking only five of its regiments, marched to 
New York; and, on the thirteenth of April, 
General Washington arrived and took up his 
quarters at the seat of war, which was now on 
this island by the sea. 

“ One knows not what a day will bring forth,” 
said Mistress Van Dam to Ottolene and Neltje, 
as the three sat together in the dining-room. 
Their plates lay before them, bearing Drusilla’s 
good food, but the three ate but little. 

“ Indeed, we may not know, Mother,” said 
Neltje. “But often they are great and 
wonderful things that happen, — not always 
things of dread and horror.” 

“ Thou hast talked so much to David and 
Captain Hamilton, my dear, that thou lookest 
at things with their eyes,” came the reply. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 173 

“ Oh, I should not say that, Mother,” an¬ 
swered the girl, flushing, 44 although they have 
both taught me many things. It is the thoughts 
of the things that our Colonies are striving for 
that makes my heart beat so with joy. I for¬ 
get all about the strife itself when I think what 
is going to be ours when we have finally won the 
fight.” 

“Mother, thou lovest Father and Ottolene 
and me? ” 

“Better than life; thou knowest that, 
Neltje.” 

“Well,” and here the girl went around to 
her mother’s side, and knelt down on the floor 
as she used to do when she was a child, “ Well, 
Mother, suppose half of us — half of each of us 
three — belonged to Governor Try on?” 

4 4 Child! What non — ” 

44 Please, Mother, hear me out,” begged 
Neltje, laying a soft finger on her mother’s lips. 
“ — belonged to Governor Tryon, and whatso¬ 
ever you wanted me to do, for instance, must be 
submitted to him first. And whatsoever you 
wanted Ottolene to learn, he must first say 
whether or not he thought it for her good. 
And whatever Father — ” 





174 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“Peace, peace child!” exclaimed Neltje’s 
mother, leaning down to kiss her daughter. “ I 
see thy reason clear. Thou need go no 
farther. What we love and what is our own, 
we must have freedom to enjoy to the full. 
God grant that we gain it. And God grant 
that that gaining be swift, and that this trouble 
soon come to its end, with its forts and swords 
and cannon and musketry. God grant that 
all good Englishmen come to their senses and 
see that in the demands of the Colonists we ask 
only what they themselves would desire, were 
they subject to the same conditions.” 

Although Mistress Van Dam did not know 
it, her prayer had already been partially an¬ 
swered. At the very moment when she and 
her daughters were at their late breakfast, the 
Provincial Congress of New York, then sitting 
at White Plains, was listening with reverence 
to the words that were being read to it, — words 
that proclaimed New York’s liberty. 

On April 20,1775, the day after the Battle 
of Lexington in Massachusetts, New York did 
then become a State. We demand, therefore, 
that officers of justice carry on business in the 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 175 

name of this State, since King and Parliament 
are no longer recognized.’ ” 

There was breathless stillness for a moment, 
after the reading of this minute had taken place. 
Then a ringing voice smote the air: 

“ ‘ When, in the course of human events, it 
becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the 
political bands which have connected them with 
another, and to assume among the powers of 
the earth the separate and equal station to which 
the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle 
them, a decent respect to the opinions of man¬ 
kind requires that they should declare the causes 
which impel them to separation. 

4 We hold these truths to be self-evident: 
that all men are created equal; that they are 
endowed by their Creator with certain inalien¬ 
able rights; that among these are life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure 
these rights, governments are instituted among 
men, deriving their just powers from the con¬ 
sent of the governed; that whenever any form 
of government becomes destructive of these 
ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to 
abolish it, and to institute a new government, 
laying its foundation on such principles, and 


176 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

organizing its powers in such form, as to them 
shall seem most likely to effect their safety and 
happiness. . . .’ ” 

The throng stood at attention until the Dec¬ 
laration of Independence had been read from 
beginning to end. 

When it was finished, David, who had been 
sent to the meeting by Alexander Hamilton, 
hurried from the room. He hastily mounted 
his horse and returned with all speed to the city. 

Captain Hamilton, who was becoming as im¬ 
portant in affairs of State as in military matters, 
had sent him to that meeting of the Assembly 
so that he might gain an accurate account of 
what took place at the proclamation of New 
York’s Statehood and Independence. 

But the young soldier’s place was now on the 
parade-ground down-town, with the Company 
of Artillery to which he belonged, together with 
the other New York troops, drawn up accord¬ 
ing to orders from the Commander-in-Chief, 
to hear the great Declaration read. David 
spurred his horse, for he must be at his post to 
hear those momentous words read again. 

At last, he stood at attention with the rest of 
Hamilton’s men, and listened: 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 177 

“'We, therefore, the representatives of the 
United States of America, in general Congress 
assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of 
the world for the rectitude of our intentions, 
do, in the name and by .the authority of the good 
people of these colonies, solemnly publish and 
declare that these United colonies are, and of 
good right ought to be, free and independent 
States.’ ” 

Drawn up on the parade-ground was that 
throng of men which formed the army brought 
to New York by command of General Wash¬ 
ington. 

What a motley array it was! There were 
troops from Connecticut, wearing the old red 
coats which had doubtless been used in the 
French wars. There were men from Mary¬ 
land, looking like a band of Robin Hood’s 
followers, in their green hunting shirts and 
leggins. The soldiers from Delaware were 
attired in dark blue coats with red facings. 
New York’s neighbors from the Jersey shore 
wore short red coats and striped trousers, or 
short blue coats and old leather breeches. 
The Pennsylvanians were resplendent in many 
colors. There were some with brown coats, 


178 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

faced with buff; some with blue coats, faced 
with red; and some wore brown waistcoats, on 
which shone home-made pewter buttons. 

The voice went on: 

“ 4 And for the support of this declaration, 
with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine 
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other 
our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.’ ” 

When the reading of the Declaration was 
finished, shouts and cheers went up from the 
crowds that thronged the outside of the parade- 
ground. The soldiers dispersed, some turning 
again to the bulwarks of the city, and asking 
themselves: “ Now what will come? ” 

But David Henry stood in the midst of the 
uproar, dreaming once more. “ Life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness,” echoed in his 
thoughts. Did ever a people aim for higher 
ends than these of the American Colonies? 
They desired a land of their own; a land of 
brave men and women and happy homes, where 
society might develop itself freely; a land of 
men and women, whose minds and muscles 
would grow strong with toiling for their own 
bread, and with solving their own problems; a 
land of study and understanding; a land of 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 179 

peace; — for when this great prize of liberty 
was won, war must never come again. Every 
human being must have life in all its fullness. 
Liberty this land should have, even though by 
the sword. And when that sword should be 
sheathed for all time, the United States would 
continue along the path of Progress, always in 
pursuit of happiness. 

These last words held David with a charm. 
Just what had that eagle-eyed Mr. Jefferson 
meant by them when he penned them? The 
question drove David to thought, while answers 
came crowding into his mind. 

“ Forward — March! ” 

It was the voice of Captain Alexander 
Hamilton. For the present, there were other 
things to be done besides speculating over the 
meanings of words. The finely drilled com¬ 
pany marched to its barracks, to disperse in the 
fashion that became soldiers of their sort. 

The instant this ceremony was over, Hamil¬ 
ton turned quickly to David for an account of 
the meeting of the Congress at White Plains. 

“ The ship of State of New York is launched 
at last! ” he exclaimed. “May we be given 
the wisdom to pilot it aright,” 



180 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

The hearts of the patriots overflowed with 
joy that day; but in all the city there was no 
happier group than that which sat on the Van 
Dams’ back piazza that evening. The dis¬ 
mantled garden, bare of its familiar trees, was 
flooded with midsummer moonlight. There 
was no regretful thought of yesterday, nor 
dread of what might happen on the morrow, 
as the family talked of the great events that had 
taken place. 

“Now this land is our own, is it not, David?” 
asked Ottolene. 

She was sitting beside her father, holding a 
bunch of roses, picked from the climbing bush 
which still hung bravely to one corner of the 
piazza and filled the warm air with its fragrance. 

“We are the United States now,” she con¬ 
tinued, her sweet young voice still childish in 
its enthusiasm. “ And we can do as we please. 
Is not that so? ” 

“We are certainly the United States,” an¬ 
swered David. “ Our Colonies have declared 
themselves free and independent. But men 
and women of flesh and blood need more than 
words, let me tell you, Ottolene. We must 
prove these facts to the English nation, before 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 181 

we can dream of settling down to enjoy our 
freedom.” 

“And that only by fighting, I suppose, as 
they have fought in Boston. I wish those 
British in their red coats would go back to their 
own land, where they belong, and leave us here 
in our country to enjoy our happiness.” 

“ I think we can persuade them to go,” said 
David, with a glitter in his eye. “But listen! 
What is happening now? ” 

In an instant he was gone; and around the 
house, and out upon Broadway, the four Van 
Dams followed him. Another crowd had 
formed from the far corners of the city and 
was now swarming forward, carrying flaming 
torches. Their aim was soon apparent. Down 
Broadway they surged, to the Battery. 

“ Tear it down! We will have none of him! 
Our land is done with kings!” 

These words and many stronger ones rent 
the air; they grew louder and more boisterous, 
until, finally, the crowd reached the Bowling 
Green. Then the frenzy broke loose. 

For several years there had stood in the 
center of the Green a leaden statue of King 
George III of England. Its metal was gilded, 


182 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

and the whole had made an imposing figure as 
the smooth surface caught the gleam of New 
York’s sunlight. 

Now the heavy object was wrenched from 
its pedestal. Some of the tallest men in the 
crowd — great stalwart fellows — tore away 
the foundations, leaving a background un¬ 
broken by the portly outline of His British 
Majesty. 

The crowd then turned northward and 
surged up Broadway, bearing the symbol of 
tyranny with them. 

“Down with painted kings!” they shouted. 

“ And may we cherish the unvarnished metal 
of true men in our land,” breathed Augustus 
Van Dam fervently. 

“ What dost thou really think of what the 
crowd has done, Father? ” asked Neltje. Her 
eyes were dancing, but she wanted to know what 
a wise man would say to such vandalism. 

“ The mob have done in deed what men of 
more tempered mind have oft done in spirit. 
Neltje, thou must not be taken too much aback 
— thou and Mother and Ottolene — when real 
violence comes.” 

The girl held her father’s arm tightly. She 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 183 

was a woman now; and none knew better than 
she how closely and loosely the sword was hang¬ 
ing over New York’s head. 

The months passed, and another summer 
dawned. Notwithstanding General Washing¬ 
ton’s superhuman efforts to drill and form an 
army with which to hold the city and her open 
harbor against the great English adversary; 
notwithstanding the heavy blockades, which had 
been reared at every important turn of the 
town; the British transports were now gather¬ 
ing in the lower bay, carrying such an army of 
men as had never been seen in America. There 
were thirty thousand of them, armed and 
equipped; and, as it was impossible to place any 
obstacles in the way of such a force, they landed 
on Staten Island during the latter part of June. 

“ They do say General Howe is loth to make 
an attack,” said Alexander Hamilton. “ I 
hear he has been authorized to offer pardon for 
submission, and is waiting hopefully to receive 
it.” 

“No doubt we all need pardon from Heaven 
for our sins and transgressions,” burst out 
Augustus Van Dam. “But the American 


184 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

who needs the pardon of his Britannic Majesty 
is yet to be found, at least in my search among 
my countrymen.” 

Alexander Hamilton’s radiant smile ap¬ 
peared. This was one of his rare visits to the 
home where he had been a frequent visitor 
during his early days in New York. A 
soldier’s life was filled with both thought and 
action these days; and General Washington 
had a great fondness for this brilliant young 
fellow, whom he had now made his private 
secretary. 

The American army was now centered in 
New York. General Washington had divided 
his forces, holding the larger part in New 
York, to protect the city, and stationing the 
smaller part in Brooklyn. 

The long hot summer days ran their blazing 
course. When would the sword fall? The 
once contented little town by the sea was 
wrapped in a seething expectation of battle. 

One day in August, General Howe put 
twenty thousand men ashore at Gravesend Bay. 
Long before daylight of the following morning, 
the seasoned troops set forth; and the solid 
flanks of England’s long-trained men filled the 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 185 

dusty lanes of Long Island. Tramp, tramp, 
tramp; — the redcoats marched mercilessly on, 
creating havoc among the little groups of 
Continentals scattered here and there. 

The American sentries, stationed along the 
island, were overcome; the troops of the 
Colonists were driven into Brooklyn; and there, 
on the Heights, the British inflicted huge losses 
upon these turbulent Americans. 

When General Washington reached the fort, 
he found his army defeated. Four hundred of 
his men lay dead or wounded. One thousand 
had been taken prisoners. The darkness had 
fallen. 

“I don’t think war — is — any kind — of a 
— way—to — settle — what— you — want!” 
sobbed Ottolene in a passion of tears. “I — 
think — it is — too — wicked. I think — it’s 
murder! ” 

The sword had done its work at last, and it 
had not spared the little group she loved so 
well. For Peter Morton had been killed in 
the Battle of Brooklyn Heights. 

“ He died like a man,” said David Henry, 
who never again made mention of the name of 
his brave little comrade. 














186 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

It was evident that General Howe, with his 
transports and his troops and his ships, was able 
to lay siege to New York in a very thorough 
manner. It was also evident that he intended 
to do so. How easy it would then be to sub¬ 
due these Americans! 

“We will starve them out,” he declared. 
“ And when New York is ours, — the gateway 
of America — why, the struggle is won!” 

But a thoughtful and powerful Commander- 
in-Chief withdrew his troops from the heights 
of Brooklyn that night under cover of the 
darkness. When the morning of August 
thirtieth dawned, General Howe saw what had 
happened. While a small guard of Americans 
had kept up a steady fire, to cover any sound 
which might be made by the moving army, 
General Washington had guided ten thousand 
men across the river, with all their arms and 
stores. He well knew that had he waited an¬ 
other twenty-four hours, the mighty fleet from 
England would have been in the river, laying 
siege to New York and cutting the Continental 
Army in two. Now the remainder of his army 
was safe. 

“ Oh, but he is a wise man — our General! ” 




“The Pursuit of Happiness” 187 

said Hamilton to David Henry. “In that 
last message of his to Congress, he said, in sub¬ 
stance, that on our side the war must be largely 
defensive. He means to hold his own against 
every British attack, rather than to rush madly 
ahead. See what he did on that one night. 
His patience and persistence are almost super¬ 
human.” 

“Do you think the enemy plans to winter 
here? ” 

“ It looks very much like it. But I should 
like to know just what Howe is planning to do.” 

“ That seems to be a matter that is beyond 
our ken.” 

“ I am not so sure that it is. The General 
has thought of ways of finding out, and I would 
trust him to do so.” 

The beautiful month of September arrived 
with its cool winds and brilliant sunshine, in a 
New York it had never known before. The 
long hot summer, with its terrible and increas¬ 
ing strain of anxiety, had made itself felt on 
all the Americans. The Mortons went about 
their several duties steadily and quietly, saying 
little. Father and the twins were in the army, 
and Clarissa kept close by her mother’s side all 


188 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

day long. Sally’s strange and trying ex¬ 
perience with Charles Langley seemed to have 
piled years upon her shining brown head. She 
also remained at home with her mother during 
the greater part of the day. No one had much 
heart for merrymaking now; and besides, the 
young men were all on duty. Neltje’s bright 
color was gone; even placid Ottolene, now quite 
a tall girl, looked pale and serious. 

“ I think it would do both of you girls a world 
of good to have a breath of real country air,” 
exclaimed Mistress Van Dam one evening. 
“ What say you, Yeltje and Ottolene, to going 
up to Mistress Murray’s, to spend the day to¬ 
morrow? You know how she ever urges you 
to come.” 

“I’d love it, Mother,” exclaimed Neltje. 
“ And you will come, too? ” 

Mistress Van Dam shook her head. 

“ What say you, Ottolene? ” asked she. 

“ Oh, I would like it, too. But, Mother, why 
will you not go? ” 

“ Because I do not want to be so far from the 
house, in case thy father should come in to 
snatch a moment in his home, and have a word 
with his family. I will attend Divine Service 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 189 

to-morrow, and then remain here, while 
Drusilla attends you two girls up to the farm¬ 
house. All I ask of the three of you is that you 
keep close together on the way, and be back 
here before darkness falls.” 

The girls went upstairs to pick out the 
dresses they were to wear on the morrow; and 
very soon after this, the whole house was in 
darkness. 

“ I wonder if the flowers will be in blossom,” 
exclaimed Ottolene the next morning, as they 
made themselves ready. It seemed like the old 
happy times, to be going up to Mrs. Murray’s 
for a day on the farm. 

Mistress Van Dam watched her daughters 
start, with the faithful Drusilla to bear them 
company on their walk; and then she went up 
to her room to array herself for church. 

She was a little late in starting, and the streets 
were almost deserted as she made her way to 
Saint Mark’s on the Bowerie Lane. When she 
reached the wide portico of the church, she 
stood for a moment between the pillars, and 
looked out over the river. 

What changes had come to New York since 
she had walked out of that door with her 


190 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 


Augustus, so many years ago! The very even¬ 
ing before their wedding the two had walked 
down the leafy Maiden Lane, with the sea air 
blowing in their faces. Some birds with bright 
red breasts were singing in the trees, and the 
soft air of spring was in their throats. 

She could remember farther back than that, 
when the canal ran across the lower part of the 
island; and she could recall how she used to like 
to scamper along the beaten path at its side. 
Now that canal was closed, and a street had 
replaced it. Maiden Lane was now a street, 
too; and Broadway, with its handsome Trinity 
Church and its Saint Paul’s, was a beautiful 
avenue, one of which any town might be proud. 
New York could be one of the greatest cities in 
the world, if only this disagreement with Eng¬ 
land could be settled once and forever. 

The sound of singing voices reminded Mis¬ 
tress Van Dam that she had come to attend the 
service. As she entered the church she paused 
to listen to the hymn that was being sung. 

“ ‘ Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 

But trust Him for His grace; 

Behind a frowning Providence 
He hides a smiling face. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 191 

‘ His purposes will ripen fast, 

Unfolding every hour; 

The bud may have a bitter taste, 

But sweet will be the flower. 

‘ Blind unbelief is sure to err, 

And scan His work in vain; 

God is His own interpreter, 

And He will make it plain.’ ” 

The hymn was evidently a new one to minister 
and people, for instead of being in the psalm¬ 
book that was generally used at the services, it 
was printed on broadcast sheets, which had been 
distributed among the pews. 

As Mistress Van Dam’s eyes reached the end 
of the verses, she saw the author’s name. 

“ ’Tis written by that good English poet, 
William Cowper,” she told herself in surprise. 
“ English words, penned by an English hand, 
and yet do they form the best song we Ameri¬ 
cans can sing to-day in the face of our trouble.” 

The service was a long one; but its peace and 
quiet was a boon to the listeners, almost all of 
whom were women. To be sure, during the 
taking of the collection and the closing prayers, 
there had come the sound of distant guns, from 
the direction of the East River; but this was 


192 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

not an unusual accompaniment to all that New 
York thought or did in these days, and little 
attention was paid to it by the worshippers. 

The dominie, however, who had been keeping 
an eye upon certain happenings which were 
taking place outside the open windows of Saint 
Mark’s, knew that something long expected was 
about to take place. He knew that the blow 
was about to fall upon New York. The in¬ 
stant the last prayer was ended, he threw out 
his hands. 

“ And now to your homes, good people! And 
God save us all. The British are coming!” 

The women clung together, hurrying out to 
look across the river. In the distance, at Kip’s 
Bay, they could see that the stream was black 
with boats, carrying the army of redcoats across 
from Long Island to New York. There were 
thousands of British soldiers there. General 
Howe was about to capture the city. 

“ God save us all,” the poor women cried, as 
they hurried to their homes. 

“And guard Augustus and my children, all 
three in the path of the enemy,” breathed Mis¬ 
tress Van Dam, as she closed the door of her 
home. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 193 

There was nothing for her to do but to resign 
herself. Already there was heavy firing in the 
city. The Americans were resisting the land¬ 
ing with vigor. But, after all, what could un¬ 
trained soldiers, like the Colonists, do against 
these solid flanks of England’s seasoned troops? 

Mistress Van Dam sat down in the armchair 
by the fireplace, and clasped her hands. 


CHAPTER VIII 


General Washington well knew that the 
motley array of soldiers who were his army, and 
who had listened so eagerly to the declaration 
of the independence of the United States, were 
possessed of a purpose for the achievement of 
which they would struggle until the very end. 
He also knew, better than anyone, how scantily 
equipped they were to carry out the great 
mission entrusted to them. 

It was out of the reach of human possibility 
for him to hold New York against the on¬ 
slaughts of the British, who had stretched their 
lines along the shores of Long Island, and were 
bringing up frigates and transports to be in 
readiness for the crossing of the river. 

So the Commander-in-Chief had held a series 
of conferences with his officers, to persuade 
them that a plan of retreat was the wisest move 
possible, for the present. A maj ority of the hot¬ 
headed patriots only half agreed to this, and the 


194 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 195 

General was obliged to make a compromise. 
He would keep five thousand American soldiers 
in the city, to resist Howe and his army when 
they should try to take possession of New York. 
The rest of the troops should withdraw to the 
Harlem lines at Kingsbridge, to act as reserve 
when the fight should come. 

Many of Washington’s men were sick and 
disabled at this time; the winter was approach¬ 
ing; supplies were beginning to give out. He 
looked back over what had been done, and wrote 
the unvarnished truth to Congress. 

“To be prepared at each point of attack has 
occasioned an expense of labor which now seems 
useless and is regretted by those who form a 
judgement from after knowledge; but men of 
discernment will see that by such works and 
preparations we have delayed the operations of 
the campaign till it is too late to effect any 
capital incursion into the country. Every 
measure is to be formed with some apprehen¬ 
sion that all our troops will not do their duty. 
On our side the war should be defensive; it has 
been called a war of posts; we should on all oc¬ 
casions avoid a general action, and never be 
drawn into a necessity to put anything to risk. 
Persuaded that it would be presumptuous to 
draw out our young troops into open ground 
against their superiors both in number and dis- 


196 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

cipline, I have never spared the spade and pick¬ 
axe. I have not found that readiness to defend 
even strong posts at all hazards which are neces¬ 
sary to derive the greatest benefit from them. 
We are now in a post acknowledged by every 
man of judgement to be untenable. A retreat¬ 
ing army is encircled with difficulties; declin¬ 
ing an engagement subjects a general to re¬ 
proach, and may throw discouragement over 
the minds of many; but when the fate of Amer¬ 
ica may be at stake on the issue, we should pro¬ 
tract the war if possible. The enemy mean to 
winter in New York; that they can drive us 
out is equally clear; nothing seems to remain 
but to determine the time of their taking pos¬ 
session.” 

General Washington’s young secretary, 
Alexander Hamilton, saw to the sealing and 
sending of this message, marveling, as he did 
so, at the coolness and wisdom of the man who 
had written it. 

“ There are no mists in his thought, nor 
clouds before his eyes,” the brilliant young fel¬ 
low told himself. “ He sees things as they are, 
not as they might or should be, not as he would 
like others to think they are. Integrity of 
thought and purpose, and indomitable will to 
accomplish this purpose — I wonder if they are 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 197 

not the secrets of the marvelous power of this 
man.” 

But the mind of General Washington’s pri¬ 
vate secretary was not given to vague musings 
any more often that was that of his revered 
commander. Both men were waiting with in¬ 
tense eagerness to hear the result of a certain 
conference which had been scheduled to take 
place on Staten Island. 

As had been hinted before, General Howe 
had undertaken a mission to the Continental 
Congress on behalf of peace. The English 
message arrived just before the one from Gen¬ 
eral Washington; and the august body at once 
set to work to decide upon what courses they 
should take in handling these two important 
matters. 

First they considered the letter from the 
Commander. Of course, the city of New York 
should not be captured by the British. They 
would order more troops to the aid of Wash¬ 
ington at once. They sent hurried word to 
Rhode Island, North Carolina, and Virginia, 
to despatch their troops to New York; they 
also urged the provincial conventions and as¬ 
semblies of other States to hurry what aid they 


198 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

could to the sorely beset town. Having thus 
complied with the American Commander’s re¬ 
quest, as far as they were able, Congress then 
turned to the message from the enemy. 

A sharp debate followed the first mention of 
this negotiation for peace. The greater num¬ 
ber of the delegates were against any kind of 
conference between the patriots and the repre¬ 
sentatives of British oppression. Finally, how¬ 
ever, the suggestion was wisely made that such 
a conference would help to delay action on the 
part of the enemy surrounding New York. A 
vote was taken, and the ballot showed that Ben¬ 
jamin Franklin, John Adams, and Edward 
Rutledge had been elected to meet General 
Howe, and to hear what he had to say. 

“ A large collation had been prepared at the 
Billops House,” Hamilton related to Wash¬ 
ington, after this meeting had taken place, 
“ where Howe makes his headquarters at Tot- 
tenville. The General declared to our men 
that it was not in his power to grant the inde¬ 
pendence which America demanded; but he 
could and would say that he regretted extremely 
the precipitancy they had shown in many mat¬ 
ters. It was painful to England, he said, and 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 199 

perilous to ourselves. Whereat, it is said,” 
continued Hamilton, his lean face aglow, 
“ that Mr. Franklin replied in his dry manner: 
‘ The people of America will endeavor to take 
care of themselves and alleviate as much as pos¬ 
sible the pain your Lordship might suffer in 
consequence of any severe measures you might 
feel it your duty to adopt/ 

“Finding that his efforts towards peaceful 
negotiations were unavailing, the General es¬ 
corted his visitors to their boat, politely inform¬ 
ing them of his regret that he was unable to re¬ 
gard the three of them as public characters. 
To this, Mr. Adams replied: ‘Your Lordship 
may consider us in any light you please; and 
indeed, I should be willing to conduct myself 
in any character which would be agreeable to 
your Lordship, except that of a British sub¬ 
ject.’ ” 

Alexander Hamilton could hardly contain 
his hilarity as he told the results of the confer¬ 
ence. But General Washington could only 
smile grimly. The enemy meant to spend the 
winter in New York, and nothing remained 
now but to await the time when they would de¬ 
cide to take possession. 


200 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

Neltje and Ottolene, walking much too fast 
for the aging Drusilla, had enjoyed every mo¬ 
ment of their journey up to Mrs. Murray’s 
farm that Sunday morning. When they 
reached the house, that lady was awaiting them, 
as usual, on the wide piazza. 

“ It is not very long, now, to winter,” said 
she. “ Let us go out under the trees, where 
we can read and talk, this lovely Sunday morn¬ 
ing.” 

“How Mother would approve of this,” ex¬ 
claimed Ottolene, as they sat down under the 
trees. She was taking in great breaths of the 
pure country air. The fragrance of the ripened 
harvests, the garden flowers, and the salt air 
were more stimulating than food or drink. 

Mrs. Murray opened her well-worn Bible on 
her knees and began to read. 

Neltje listened attentively. Ottolene tried 
to do the same; but there was so much here 
that her soul hungered for, that her eyes and 
thoughts would wander away from Mrs. Mur¬ 
ray and her good Book. 

First of all, over against the cornfield, there 
was a great clump of that wonderful wild 
flower which spread itself over the banks of 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 201 

the North River in September. “Golden- 
rod ” it was called; and Ottolene bathed her eyes 
in its light. 

Then the flowers were still in blossom. She 
had thought they would be. And from that 
same garden, where the brightly colored blos¬ 
soms hung heavy on their stems, came the sweet 
odor of some phlox, which still lingered in spite 
of the cold September nights. 

A late butterfly fluttered through the air, 
and balanced its fairy weight on a spray of the 
golden-rod. In the grasses at their feet, a 
cricket was chirping its warm contentment. 
Basking among the things she loved, Ottolene 
felt that she had never been happier. But that 
moment of contentment vanished in the twink¬ 
ling of an eye. 

The girl’s blue eyes, wandering over the 
landscape, had turned themselves in the direc¬ 
tion of the East River; and now she beheld the 
very sight her mother was witnessing from an¬ 
other angle. A mass of boats, loaded with 
brightly clad soldiers, was moving across the 
river. 

“Mrs. Murray! ” shrieked the girl. “ Look! 
Look! The British are coming!” 


202 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

Mrs. Murray’s keen eyes followed Ottolene’s 
gaze, even as the American guns began to boom 
forth. 

“ They are landing to take possession,” she 
said quietly. “ Neltje and Ottolene, come into 
the house at once; and do, without question, 
whatever I tell you.” 

The girls were speechless; but they hurried 
into the house, where they stood and watched 
the scene from the east windows, their hearts 
beating fast. Soon the Sunday calm was shat¬ 
tered by the cries and shouts of battle, and the 
firing of guns. 

Notwithstanding the vigorous defense of the 
American troops stationed in the city, the great 
mass of British soldiers were landed, company 
after company, and steadily spread themselves 
over the land. 

“Our men are being overwhelmed!” cried 
Neltje, in despair. “They never can stand 
against that great army! ” 

“Neltje, this is a time for deeds, not words 
and tears,” exclaimed Mrs. Murray sternly. 
She had been giving orders to her servants in 
a calm and dignified manner. Now she came 
and stood at the window beside the two girls, 







“Look! Look! There is General Washington V’-Page 203 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 203 

and even her brave heart quailed at the sight 
of the oncoming foe. 

Already the Americans were swarming 
around the house. Their powder was gone; 
their guns could no longer be fired. The un¬ 
trained troops were in a panic, and they were 
fleeing in all directions. 

“ Look! Look! There is General Washing- 
ton!” cried Ottolene. 

Out in the cornfield, where the young people 
had hunted so gaily for red ears of corn, a great 
white horse was rearing and plunging, its rider 
spurring it to and fro as he lashed his men with 
his tongue. For the moment, these men were 
powerless to fight; but they must be brought 
under control. Finally, the scattered, frantic 
troops were gathered together, and Washing¬ 
ton ordered a retreat. 

With her heart at the breaking point, Mrs. 
Murray saw the American troops fall into line 
and stretch out of sight along the dusty road. 
And almost at their heels came the enemy, for 
the steady tramp of those long-drilled British 
ranks could already be heard. 

“ Do whatsoever I tell you, without question,” 
she again admonished her guests and her house- 


204 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

hold staff. Then she went out alone into the 
garden and sat down beneath the trees, with 
her Bible in her lap. 

“ Tramp. Tramp. Tramp.” The march¬ 
ing column came nearer, but Mrs. Murray did 
not so much as raise her eyes from her book, 
even for a moment. 

“ Tramp. Tramp. Tramp. Tramp.” The 
thud and rumble of an army moving on its way 
filled the mild September air; but the lady un¬ 
der the trees followed the movement of her 
finger as it traced the line she appeared to be 
reading. 

“Halt!” 

Mrs. Murray looked up at the sound of the 
command. 

“ Here, my men, is a fitting place to rest, this 
hot day,” came a voice. 

The man who spoke was tall and imposing 
in his appearance. Mrs. Murray rose and curt¬ 
sied. 

“ My Lord, General Howe, I believe? ” said 
she. 

The British Commander bowed low over her 
hand. 

“ My Lord, the heat is intense and it is high 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 205 

noon. I heard you order your men to rest. 
While they tarry under the shade of my trees, 
I wish that you and your officers would come 
into my house. The midday meal is about to 
be served, and I can promise you refreshment 
and rest.” 

“ Did ever Englishman meet a more gracious 
hostess!” exclaimed General Howe. 

Again he ordered a complete respite for his 
army; and calling his staff to follow him, he 
went into the big cool house. 

“ Rest, refreshment, and a charming hostess.” 
General Howe bowed low again, in the direc¬ 
tion of Mrs. Murray. “ And the pleasure of 
the company of two young maids, as pretty as 
a man would care to look upon!” finished he, 
catching sight of the two girls. 

Neltje had caught the spirit of Mrs. Murray’s 
act at once. They must delay the English here, 
until General Washington had the Americans 
well under control and ready to give battle. 
But what would Ottolene do? Would she 
understand their purpose in entertaining the 
English officers? 

Neltje need not have had one fear on this 
score, however, for there was a welcoming smile 


206 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

on Ottolene’s sweet round face, as she greeted 
a handsome young officer. 

“What a hot day you have chosen for a 
march, sir,” she said. “ ’Tis the way of Septem¬ 
ber, though. The evenings are cool, but the 
noonday sun burns to a blister.” 

The officer mopped his brow. “ One forgives 
the heat when it leads to a spot and to company 
like this,” he answered gallantly. 

“ I have always heard that the English could 
turn a fine compliment,” returned Ottolene, 
dimpling. “And you seem to have noticed 
Mrs. Murray’s garden. Is it true that there 
are such fine flower gardens in England?” 

“Flower gardens!” answered the officer. 
“ Only the fair maid I am talking to surpasses 
in sweetness our English blooms. Why — 
Mistress — ” 

“ Van Dam, sir,” answered the girl. 

“Mistress Van Dam, I come from Oxford, 
where the brightest flowers in all England 
bloom.” 

“What are some of them? Pray, tell me, 
sir.” 

“ Why, there are hollyhocks, taller than any 
man, rearing themselves against brick walls. 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 207 

There are pansies blooming at their feet. 
There are Canterbury-bells and cockscombs 
and foxgloves and marigolds — ” 

“Not all blooming at once, surely?” 

“No, of course not; but blooming one after 
the other in such profusion that there are al¬ 
ways flowers at Oxford.” 

Ottolene’s face wore an expression of ab¬ 
sorbed interest and delight. 

“ And the wild flowers — tell me about Eng¬ 
land’s wild flowers.” 

“Well, there is the furze, golden in mid¬ 
summer and — ” 

“ Madam, I have never tasted such delicious 
cold pie,” Lord Howe was telling Mrs. Murray, 
close behind these two. 

“ ’Tis a good old English receipt, my lord,” 
answered she. 

“And steamed pudding, upon my soul!” 
continued the General. “ The good fates that 
guard the island of Great Britain certainly in¬ 
spired us to pause in this spot to-day.” 

“ My lord is too kind,” murmured Mrs. Mur¬ 
ray. “Will you not have more plum cake, sir? 
And you ? — And you ? ’ ’ 

“And Amasa,” she directed, in louder tones 


208 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

than before, “ see that you keep all the decanters 
filled.” 

At the end of two delightful hours, General 
Howe bestirred himself. 

“We must be on our way to chase the rebels,” 
he said lightly. No muscles moved on the faces 
of Mrs. Murray and Neltje as they stood to¬ 
gether, ready to receive the farewells of their 
guests. 

Out on the lawn, overlooking the river, the 
men were moving restlessly, waiting to start on 
their way once more. “ We must not tarry 
longer,” continued General Howe, turning to 
the next in command. “ These officers must 
stir themselves at once. Where is Warren? ” 

“ ’Tis a pity to disturb him, sir,” came the 
answer, as the one addressed nodded with a 
smile towards one of the deep window seats 
where Ottolene and the young officer continued 
their conversation. 

“ Warren! ” sounded the quick command. 

“ Here, my Lord,” came the reply. But the 
young man in question did not move forward. 
Instead, he turned to the window once more. 

“ Of course, the damp sea air, surrounding 
the island by day and by night, accounts in a 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 209 

large degree for its wonderful fertility and for 
the luxuriant blossoming of its flowers.” 

“ I well understand how that could be.” 

“ Warren! ” 

“ Yes, my Lord.” 

“ And you tell me that fuchsias grow as high 
as shrubs in Ireland? ” 

“ Tall as the hollyhocks at Oxford, with won¬ 
drous drooping blossoms of rich, varied — ” 

“ Forward! ” 

The young officer started at the command; 
but Ottolene laid a hand on his arm. 

“ And the larkspur? ” 

“ Blue as your eyes, dear maid. I pray I 
may see you again some time. Farewell.” 

“ A whole five minutes you have detained us 
beyond the time, Warren,” exclaimed General 
Howe sternly. With appropriate expressions 
of gratitude for the hospitality which had been 
extended to them, the British officers left the 
house and mounted their horses, and the column 
of soldiers moved off towards Harlem. 

Ottolene and Neltje lost no time in joining 
Mrs. Murray under the trees when the soldiers 
were out of sight. Far up the Bloomingdale 
road, a cloud of dust still lingered, as Mrs. Mur- 


210 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

ray opened her Bible, laid aside the marker she 
had placed there, and ran her finger down the 
page to the place where she had stopped read¬ 
ing. 

“ ‘ And they caused the enemy to tarry/ ” she 
read aloud. 

“Oh, Mistress Murray! Do you suppose 
our troops are ready for them? ” cried Ottolene. 

“At least they are well out of reach,” an¬ 
swered the lady, looking up at the sun. “ It 
must be about two hours since General Wash¬ 
ington ordered a retreat. The American Army 
should be in Harlem by this time.” 

“ The selfish, conceited creatures! ” exclaimed 
Ottolene in disgust. 

“My dears, I thank you both for all you 
did to help on this occasion,” said Mrs. Murray. 

“I would we could have done a great deal 
more,” declared Neltje, who had done her part 
to make the English officers as comfortable and 
as loth to leave as was in her power. “And 
now, Ottolene, we must be starting home. Find 
Drusilla, and we shall leave at once.” 

“ And I am going to send one of the serving 
men with you, too,” said Mrs. Murray. “ Then 
he can bring me word of your safe arrival home.” 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 211 

The four soon started off on the long walk 
to Mistress Van Dam’s, the two girls chatting 
glibly over what had taken place. 

“Think what Clarissa and Sally will say!” 
exclaimed Ottolene. “And David and Mr. 
Hamilton, too. I wonder where those two 
are, with their band of artillery.” 

“ There is no way of knowing,” answered her 
sister. “ General Washington will do the wise 
thing, no matter what it is. Oh, how I hope 
Father comes home to-night and tells us all the 
news! ” 

The heat was oppressive and the streets were 
deserted, as the four moved down Broadway. 
When they reached the house, Neltje dismissed 
Mrs. Murray’s man with a smile, and thanked 
him for attending them. 

“May you have a safe journey back, Pom- 
pey, and no more visits from redcoats.” 

“Amen!” answered Pompey devoutly, and 
made his way back to his mistress just as fast as 
his legs could carry him. 

The girls found their mother sitting quietly 
in the house. “Didst see anything of thy 
father, girls ? ” she asked, as they all sat together. 

“Not a sign, Mother. The troops were all 


212 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

in confusion. I think they had used all their 
powder firing at the British while they were 
landing. Oh, how angry General Washing¬ 
ton was! But he got them all in line, and they’re 
probably ready for the British now.” 

Very soon after this, there came to Mistress 
Van Dam and her daughters, and to other wait¬ 
ing households, the news of the battle at Harlem 
Heights. The Americans had been ready. 
“ Zounds! Those Colonists know how to fight! ” 
the British officers were reported to have said. 
Then the days wore on, with little news of the 
army, and with none of Augustus Van Dam. 

Neltje and Ottolene came down to breakfast 
these mornings with swollen eyes; but during 
the day there was no sign of a tear. Their 
mother, ceaselessly busy, grew very silent at her 
work. 

King’s College had been turned into a hos¬ 
pital, and every day she went to help in the 
nursing of the wounded. Drusilla went with 
her, carrying delicacies for the men; and Neltje 
and Ottolene were left to care for affairs at 
home. But day after day, as she scanned the 
faces of each and every soldier on the cots, she 
looked in vain for the face of her husband. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 213 

One evening, about two weeks after the battle 
of Harlem Heights, a gaunt, thin, but trium¬ 
phant soldier appeared at her door. 

It was David Henry. He had twenty-four 
hours’ furlough, and had come home with many 
parcels of gleaming news. The Americans 
showed a spirit that could not be daunted. Gen¬ 
eral Washington had acted like one inspired. 

“ Of course he ever insists that ours must be 
an attitude of defense, rather than attack. 
With our small numbers, it would be madness 
to take the offensive now. But how he bids the 
soldiers hold their ground, and makes them do 
it! The army is like a young strong plant, 
sending its roots deeper and deeper into the 
ground. And Mistress Van Dam, what do you 
think? Alexander Hamilton is now General 
Washington’s private secretary. He is with 
him constantly, and he and General Greene 
grow closer and closer to him.” 

“But my father!” Neltje burst forth. 
“Where do you suppose he is all this time?” 

“ When did you last see him? ” asked David, 
turning to her quickly. 

“The night before the British landed at 
Kip’s Bay,” answered Mistress Van Dam. 


214 “The Pursuit of Happiness ” 

“ Since he left us then, we have heard no word 
of him.” 

David’s face was a study. 

“ He is alive. Of that I am almost certain,” 
he said, “ because we have kept careful count 
of every man lost in battle. But — ” 

Here the young man stopped. How could 
he mention the possibility of the grim prison, 
not very far from the house; or the much grim¬ 
mer prison ship in the harbor? 

Mistress Van Dam read his thoughts, how¬ 
ever. Indeed, the picture of these two had 
loomed in her imagination many times. 

“You think my husband is kept in captiv¬ 
ity?” asked she. 

“ It is possible.” 

“Well, how can we find out?” implored 
Neltje. “ Is there no way to find where he is? 
Is there no way we could get to him? ” 

“Neltje, Ottolene, Mistress Van Dam! I 
will make it my solemn and first duty, before 
I go back to the fort to-morrow morning, to 
search the records and discover the whereabouts, 
if possible, of Master Van Dam.” 

The four were sitting on the piazza at the 
back of the house. A few perennials bloomed 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 215 

here and there in the wreck of the garden, and 
an oppressive stillness hung over the desolate 
spot. 

“And if my father is a prisoner within the 
British lines, what can we do to rescue him?” 
asked Ottolene. 

“We cannot do anything at present,” an¬ 
swered David, trying to be as cheerful as pos¬ 
sible. “We must wait until we can make an 

t 

exchange. In the meantime, Ottolene, if your 
father really is a captive, you can take him food 
every day.” 

“Is that possible?” exclaimed Mistress Van 

Dam. 

“ Yes. I do not know how long it has been 
going on; but I heard yesterday that the ladies 
of the town had begun to make daily trips to 
the prison with supplies of food.” 

“We will begin to-morrow,” said Mistress 
Van Dam with firmness. Hearing this, Neltje 
jumped up and went into the house, to see just 
what the larder held ready to be taken to the 
prison early the next morning. As she went 
through the big living-room, a bright glow 
from outside attracted her attention. 

“Mother! Ottolene! David!” she cried, 


216 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

rushing back to the piazza. “ The town is on 
fire!” 

Sweeping along the East River, from the 
direction of Whitehall Slip, came great flames, 
carrying everything bef ore them. Cries of hor¬ 
ror were coming over the air, too, — shrill 
shrieks and groans, and, once more, the sound 
of a surging crowd on Broadway. But this 
time it was a mob of distress, not an enraged 
populace. 

“Mistress Van Dam, you and the girls stay 
here beside your home, but flee for your lives 
at the first approach of danger,” admonished 
David. And the next instant the young sol¬ 
dier was darting down Broadway to help fight 
the flames. 

“ Trinity has fallen! ” came the cry. 

“We must save Saint Paul’s,” David told 
himself. The beautiful church, with its wide 
portico, was still unharmed. In a few mo¬ 
ments he had marshaled a group of young men 
around him. 

Led by the young officer of Captain Hamil¬ 
ton’s company, this group scaled the walls and 
stood on the roof of the building, stamping out 
great fiery sparks as they fell, and extinguish- 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 217 

ing the tiny flames as they tried to eat into and 
under the cornices. 

Then, as fast as the flames themselves, was 
spread the word: “ The Mayor has given orders 
that the row of houses bordering Barclay Street 
shall be burned down. It is the only way to 
save the whole city.” 

David heard the cries as he stood on the roof 
of Saint Paul’s. His face was black with soot 
and scorched with flame, and his hands were 
blistered. The picture of two of his friends 
stood out with dreadful tragedy in his mind, as 
he heard the words. It was the only thing to 
be done. Those terrible onrushing flames must 
be met with fire. The Mayor was right. But 
in one of that row of doomed houses lived Mrs. 
Lansing and Sally. 

David gave a few hurried orders to the others 
on the roof of the church. Then he climbed 
down to the ground and sped away. It was not 
far to the Lansings’ home. He raced on, while 
the scorching blaze lighted the very heavens 
with its redness. 

At last he reached the door. Sally and her 
mother had been collecting silver and valuables, 
and were waiting to see if the flames would 


218 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

really come near enough to endanger them. 
Their faces were deadly pale, but they appeared 
to be quite calm. 

“Mrs. Lansing! Sally! I came to help. 
This block of houses must go. It is the only 
way to save the city. You must not wait an 
instant. You must come at once. Tell me 
what I may carry, and we will make haste to 
the Van Dams. They seem out of harm’s way 
for the present.” 

“ David, my dear boy, we have collected all 
that we can carry.” 

“Then come, come at once, I beseech you!” 

David gathered up a great armful of beau¬ 
tiful calf-bound volumes, and, urging the little 
group to make haste, he led the way through 
the smoky, scorching air, back to the Van Dam 
house, where mother and daughters were wait¬ 
ing. 

Mistress Van Dam received the Lansings 
with open arms. “ The girls shall sleep down 
here,” she said, “ and thou shalt have the whole 
upper floor to thyselves.” 

David deposited the books on the floor of the 
living-room, and, leaving Mrs. Lansing and 
Sally to tell their own tale, hurried out again. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 219 

All night, he and others fought the fire. Even 
after the great flames were subdued, and the 
path of the fire blocked, the untiring men 
worked among the ruins, carrying the burned 
and maimed to the hospital, and searching for 
what little could be rescued. 

When morning dawned on the stricken city, 
the pale light that gleamed over the East River 
showed that the lower half of New York was 
a smouldering wreck. 

“ I should estimate that five hundred build¬ 
ings have been burned,” said one of David’s 
comrades of the night. 

“ I wonder if this is more of that British devil¬ 
try,” muttered David. 

“ It is hard to say,” said the one beside him. 
He was an old man, a grocer who had often 
served the Van Dams, and David knew him 
well. “ I do hear it broke out in a public house 
down at Whitehall.” 

“Well, the flames have done their worst,” 
said David, looking at the scene before him. 

As he looked over the desolate tract, there 
came to him that scene which met his eyes when 
he first came to New York, — the Battery and 
Bowling Green and the harbor and Broadway, 


220 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

all under a clear blue sky and a flood of sunlight, 
with Augustus Van Dam and the smiling 
Neltje to meet him. What dreams had soared 
through his mind then! And how those dreams 
still lingered with him! 

“ Hugh, 5 ’ he said, laying his grimy hand on 
the still grimier coat sleeve of the older man, 
“even in the face of this, we must not despair. 
New York will be built up again. General 
Washington will win the day; and a new city 
and a new land will be ours.” 

“You always did talk like a book, Master 
David,” said the old man. 

“No matter what I talk like, I must try and 
make myself look like a soldier.” And David 
hurried home for such cleaning as he could ac¬ 
complish. An hour later he was on his horse, 
making his way back to Harlem. 


CHAPTER IX 


To find Augustus Van Dam was now David’s 
sole purpose. He was convinced that he was 
a prisoner. “ If only it is in one of the city 
prisons; then, at least, they can get food to 
him; but — on the prison ship Jersey — ” He 
shuddered at the thought. He had heard the 
rumors of the horrible hardships there. “At 
least he is safe from shot and shell,” he told him¬ 
self. It was a soldier’s duty to keep a brave 
heart. 

He had left the outskirts of the city, and was 
long past Inclenberg, when he saw a vaguely 
familiar figure in the road before him. Hear¬ 
ing the clatter of hoofs behind him, the fig¬ 
ure turned. Recognizing Charles Langley, 
David quickly reined in his horse, and cried, 
“ Halt!” 

“ I arrest you, Langley, in the name of the 
Continental Army, as an enemy to the Cause.” 

“ I am glad to go with you, Henry,” said the 
man at his side. “ I know you will not believe 


221 




222 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

me — you have no reason to honor my word — 
but I wish to go with you. I am no longer an 
enemy to the Cause of America.” 

“ Hush! ” said David, more sharply than be¬ 
fore. “I have had all the lying from you I 
wish to hear, Charles Langley.” 

The latter stood unmoved, while David bound 
his hands together and bade his prisoner march 
forward beside him. 

There was a very strong sense of relief in 
David’s mind, at having captured this strange 
and evasive young man, who had mingled so 
freely with their little group, and who had had 
such easy access to the homes of some of the 
most fiery patriots in the city. 

“ He could do untold mischief, with all he 
knows,” David had more than once thought; 
and he had blamed himself again and again for 
not being more vigilant after hearing Sally’s 
tale of the maps. 

He rode on in an exultant silence, which was 
presently broken by Charles. 

“David, you say you are through with my 
lies. Well, I am through with lying.” 

The horseman rode on, refusing to speak. 
But his prisoner persevered. “And it is one 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 223 

of your own countrymen who has brushed the 
cobwebs from my brain.” 

Still David took no notice. This young Eng¬ 
lishman was clever; he was wily; he had imagina¬ 
tion. David would not be fooled by him again. 

“ Do you remember Captain Nathan Hale? ” 
Charles asked bluntly. 

At this, David gave sudden ear, although he 
made no sign of interest. “Remember him? 
I know him well.” 

“ You knew him well,” said Charles Lang¬ 
ley. “ He was hanged as a spy this morning, 
from an apple tree in Colonel Rutger’s or¬ 
chard.” 

“ What! ” thundered David, leaping from his 
horse and standing face to face with the man 
in the road. 

“ What I say is God’s own truth. I saw it 
all from my window. And David, you may 
imprison me in chains for the rest of my life, 
but my soul will live for the Cause for which 
that stainless man died.” 

“ Tell me all you know of this,” commanded 
David, white and stern. 

“ I heard the tale from one of the soldiers,” 
answered Charles. “ Hale had evidently been 


224 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 


all through the British lines, and was not recog¬ 
nized as a soldier in his brown suit of clothes. 
He went into a tavern on the Long Island side, 
kept by a Tory woman and much frequented 
by the British. The story goes that suddenly 
a man came in and reported that a boat was 
coming. Hale thought it was for him and hur¬ 
ried out. This aroused the suspicion of those 
around him, and he was arrested with many 
detailed sketches of the English quarters on his 
person.” 

“ When was this? ” asked David, in a strained 
voice. 

“ That was last evening. He was brought 
to Howe’s headquarters in the Beekman house 
and was tried before a court martial.” 

“Where did he spend the night?” 

“ In the Beekman greenhouse, under heavy 
guard. And — ” Charles clinched his teeth, 
“ they acted like barbarians to him. He asked 
for a Bible and a clergyman, and they refused 
him both; — only hanged him like a dog. Pro¬ 
vost Marshal Cunningham, and a few others, 
gathered there in the park to see the ghastly 
deed. Cunningham mocked him, and asked if 
he had anything to say, and Hale replied: ‘ My 



“The Pursuit of Happiness” 225 

only regret is that I have but one life to give 
to my country . 5 55 

For an instant, David was speechless. 
Charles was forgotten; — all he could see was 
that fine scholar’s face; all he could hear was 
that deep sweet voice. Nathan Hale — Nathan 
Hale was gone. 

“ And David, I have vowed to make one more 
life do what it can for the Country of such a 
man. If only all Americans would strive to 
be like him! ” 

David bent over Charles Langley’s hands 
and untied his bonds. “ I am going to trust 
you,” he said, “ for the sake of that man whose 
soul has flown.” 

David lost no time, after his return to the 
American camp, in going over the lists of pris¬ 
oners. He very soon found that Augustus Van 
Dam was held captive in the old jail, not far 
from the college. He sent this news posthaste 
to the wife and daughters of the prisoner. 

“We can carry provisions every day, can’t 
we, Mother?” asked Neltje, the quick tears 
springing to her eyes. 

“ I, myself, will do the baking,” said Mistress 


226 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

Van Dam quietly; and not one finger were 
Neltje, Ottolene, or Drusilla allowed to lay 
upon flour or dough. Mistress Van Dam 
fashioned with her own hands every bit of food 
that they carried each day to the prison, some¬ 
times toiling far into the night. 

“ I wish I knew that Father had all he wanted 
of it,” said Ottelene. 

“We can only hope and pray that he has,” 
answered her mother. She who had been more 
sprightly than her two daughters put together, 
as her husband was wont to say, had grown 
quieter day by day, ever since the night of the 
fire. 

So the days dragged by. 

“ Mother, I wish you would let us do more of 
the work,” begged Neltje. 

“ The best remedy for a sad heart is a busy 
pair of hands,” said her mother, pinching the 
pale cheeks of her daughter. “Moreover, I 
want you and Ottolene to have as much bright¬ 
ness as we can find, these anxious days. Did 
ever girls spend the heyday of their youth in 
such times as those of your generation are do¬ 
ing?” 

“ But Mother, it is good for us to work, too,” 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 227 

said Ottolene. “My heart is as full of my 
father as is thine.” 

“ Bless thy dear heart,” said her mother, put¬ 
ting both arms around the girl who would al¬ 
ways be her baby. And thenceforth Ottolene 
was privileged to help in making the bread, and 
in carrying it to American prisoners. 

News of the movements of the two armies was 
floating through the city. By the ninth of Oc¬ 
tober, two English frigates had been sent up 
the Hudson River to cut off supplies coming 
to the Americans. About this time, General 
Washington moved his camp across Manhat¬ 
tan Island and a little farther north, to the 
Bronx River. Then General Howe moved his 
troops to New Rochelle, and the Americans 
were led by their Commander to White Plains. 

On October 28th, news traveled down to New 
York of a fierce battle at this place. Neltje’s 
cheeks grew whiter than ever, as the full ac¬ 
counts of this battle reached the city. 

These accounts were soon followed by the 
appearance of the British troops in New York. 
They swarmed the streets and the taverns and 
the public houses. Once again the enemy was 


228 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

in possession, and only a remnant of the Con¬ 
tinental Army remained for purposes of obser¬ 
vation. 

“ General Cornwallis is leading half of the 
British Army to combat our troops, and Gen¬ 
eral Howe is back here again. They like New 
York, — the beasts! And how they do enjoy 
themselves! ” 

Sally Lansing was speaking. She and her 
mother, who had taken refuge at the Van Dam 
home on the night of the great fire, had stayed 
on at the urgent request of the mistress of the 
house, and the two families had been a great 
comfort to each other. 

“ Those miserable Britishers have upset 
everything. They must know it cannot last; 
but our New York Congress, which has been 
holding its session at Phillipse Manor, has gone 
up to Poughkeepsie now. Why, do you know 
that even the Continental Congress has fled 
from Philadelphia to Baltimore?” 

“ These are dark days for our country, but we 
must not despair.” 

It was Mrs. Lansing who spoke. She, like 
her hostess, had unconsciously laid aside the 
vivacity which had made her one of the belles 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 229 

of New York in her day; and it was only on rare 
occasions, now, that she entered into conversa¬ 
tion. 

“We won’t despair,” exclaimed Ottolene. 
“But I wish people wouldn’t be turncoats. 
Some of the girls don’t hesitate a moment to 
invite the English officers to their homes and en¬ 
tertain them.” 

“ I wonder if Clarissa will be here to-night,” 
said Mistress Van Dam. She was expecting 
the girl, and was always anxious, these days, if 
there was the slightest delay. 

“ Here she is! ” exclaimed Neltje, a moment 
later, as Clarissa came through the door with 
one of her twin brothers close at her heels. 

It was many weeks since the girl’s face had 
shone with such joy and excitement as it did at 
this moment. 

“ What news? ” burst from the group at the 
table. 

“General Wayne — Mad Anthony—has 
captured Stony Point!” 

“Richard!” 

“Yes! Word came to our post this morn¬ 
ing. General Washington, it is said, gave him 
twelve hundred men. Not one of their guns 



230 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

was loaded — it was a bayonet charge. You 
know, Stony Point is almost an island when 
the tide is high. Well, about midnight, our 
men crossed the causeway when the tide was 
low, and they were close on the garrison before 
the English saw them and began to fire. Our 
men rushed forward with their bayonets set, 
and stopped for nothing. In a few minutes 
the whole British garrison surrendered. And 
not a man was killed on either side. General 
Wayne did receive a bullet in his shoulder, but 
he kept right on fighting.” 

When Richard Morton finished his story, the 
four girls whirled themselves around with joy. 

“ Our arms have won! Our arms have won! ” 
they cried. 

“ When will the English understand that they 
will never conquer us?” questioned Mrs. Lan¬ 
sing. 

“ If only they would learn quickly,” said Mis¬ 
tress Van Dam. The vision of that grim prison 
wall cast a constant shadow of sorrow on her 
life. 

“ Thou wilt see thy sister safely home, Rich¬ 
ard?” she asked, a few moments later. 

“ Oh, indeed, though the streets are quiet 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 231 

enough. Howe and his men enjoy their easy 
life. Do not be over fearful, Mistress Van 
Dam.” 

“ I am glad we have two of our boys left to 
take care of us,” said Mistress Van Dam. The 
Morton twins had always been great favorites 
with her. “ I wish that David could have been 
left here, too.” 

“ If there is one man I envy, next to Alex¬ 
ander Hamilton, it is David Henry,” declared 
Richard. “ He grows closer and closer to Gen¬ 
eral Washington, I hear; and he is winning 
laurels for himself. He is so brave and wise! ” 

Neltje glowed with pride. 

“ I wish I could hear of some of the things he 
does,” said Ottolene. 

“ I’ll tell you how you may, and then we must 
be gone,” said Richard. “ The next time you 
go to the hospital, ask for his orderly — Brad¬ 
shaw, I think the name is. He will tell you all 
you want to know about him.” 

“We will search him out to-morrow,” said 
Mistress Van Dam. “ Thanks for all the good 
news thou hast brought us, Clarissa and Rich¬ 
ard.” 

It was the afternoon of the next day be- 


232 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

fore this good lady found time from her duties 
to make her daily visit to the hospital; and when 
she started she found all three girls waiting to 
accompany her. 

When they reached the hospital, Mistress 
Van Dam asked at once for David Henry’s 
orderly. 

“ He has been grievously ill,” she was told. 
“ But he is on the road to recovery now, and a 
visit from all these bright faces will be a fine 
tonic for him.” 

Neltje followed her mother closely as they 
went by the long line of cots. It seemed that 
her heart would burst if she did not hear some¬ 
thing of David soon. 

“ Here he is, Madam,” said the soldier who 
had led the way. Some ladies to see you, 
Bradshaw.” 

The wounded soldier turned on his side, and 
Neltje and her mother both gave a start as they 
recognized the thin pale face of Charles Lang¬ 
ley. 

He held out his hand with a smile, but they 
both drew back. 

“Charles!” exclaimed Neltje, at last. She 
was sorry for him. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 233 

“ I forgot I hadn’t explained, or that David 
hadn’t told you, either,” he said. “It seems 
so long ago.” He drew himself up, coughing 
as he did so. 

“Do not try to tell us now,” said Mistress 
Van Dam. “It will do another time. We 
just came to see how you are, and to hear what 
you know about David.” 

“ Thank you, thank you! But you must 
listen. David can tell you that it is true. I 
am on your side now, and always will be. And 
I have my right name now. Some day I will 
tell it all, if you have time to listen.” 

Mistress Van Dam turned again to the sol¬ 
dier who was with them. 

“Mr. — Bradshaw — is one of our men, is 
he not? ” 

“ Oh yes, Madam. He was wounded at 
White Plains. He is one of our bravest men.” 
INTeltje and Ottolene stood in the background, 
not knowing what to think. It seemed that 
Charles Langley had changed his name; and 
now he lay here, honored as one wounded in 
the great cause of human liberty. 

“We have time to listen, if you feel strong 
enough to tell us,” said Mistress Van Dam. 


234 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

While she and Sally stood patiently by his bed, 
he told them of his change of name. 

“ I took my real name,” he said, “ and gave 
up that of my foster father. I lived with him 
from the time I was a baby, and always went by 
the name of Langley.” 

“And who were your parents, Charles?” 
asked Mistress Van Dam. The young man had 
always been very reticent about himself, but 
now he was ready to talk freely. 

“ They were Londoners. I was left, as a 
very young child, to some friends of my par¬ 
ents. When I had grown up they sent me here 
to make a living.” The story was brief, and 
not particularly exciting. 

“And now, a little about our David,” said 
Mistress Van Dam, “and then we shall leave 
you.” 

“ He is one of the finest soldiers in General 
Washington’s army,” exclaimed Charles. 
“ His wisdom, his bravery, and his understand¬ 
ing have brought him very close to the greatest 
man in America.” 

Soon after this the four took their leave, still 
dumbfounded at the strange turn of events 
that had made a friend out of an enemy. 



“I AM ON YOUR SIDE NOW, AND ALWAYS WILL BE. " —Page 233, 





“The Pursuit of Happiness” 235 

The weeks rolled slowly by. The beauty of 
New York had vanished. Its shade trees were 
uprooted; its streets were in confusion; the ships 
which had sailed the seas for years, bringing 
wealth to the city, were now rotting at their 
wharves, and only the military transports re¬ 
mained. 

From time to time, the little group of wait¬ 
ing women were rewarded for their patience 
with news from the scenes of battle. But it 
was often news that wrung their hearts; and 
always, night and day, that prison was in their 
thoughts. 

David’s letters furnished the brightest mo¬ 
ments in those dreary days. He had writ¬ 
ten from Trenton, describing the bitter journey 
across the Delaware, when Washington led his 
half-clad army through that field of ice. He 
had written from Valley Forge, and from many 
other points. The two older women and the 
girls read and reread the letters. 

“Dost think he sounds hopeful?” Mistress 
Van Dam would ask wistfully. 

“Yes, Mother, I do,” Ottolene would say 
stoutly; and Neltje, who treasured the special 
messages that were addressed to her, would add: 


236 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

“ Mother, I can never lose hope so long as David 
is fighting for us.” 

One day there came a letter a little longer 
than the others. It had been despatched from 
Mount Vernon. 

4 c General Washington brought Alexander 
Hamilton and myself down here, for a night in 
his home,” wrote David. “ The place is blessed 
with his love for it. I awoke early this morning 
and saw him out in the garden — alas, almost as 
run to destruction as yours, Ottolene — ex¬ 
amining the buds on the fruit trees, and poking 
among the leaves. And when he came in to 
breakfast his talk was not of war and battles, 
but of his fields and his farm. He is sore beset 
in his mind that his home should be neglected, 
but I understand he will not allow that money 
shall be spent upon it while the troops remain 
unpaid. Mrs. Washington exceeds even Cla¬ 
rissa and her mother in knitting. She works 
unceasingly on socks for the soldiers. I wish 
you might all see her, sitting in her room up¬ 
stairs, knitting hour after hour.” 

“ I am going to take that letter over to the 
hospital, for Charles to read,” said Sally, after 
they had all listened to it for the second time. 
Neltje and Ottolene looked at each other know¬ 
ingly, but neither said a word. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 237 

The entire household, including Mrs. Lan¬ 
sing, soon noticed that Sally was making fre¬ 
quent visits to the hospital. Charles was now 
retained there as an attendant, and helped the 
women of the city distribute their gifts of fruit 
and jelly where they were most needed. 

“ Charles is always so glad to hear from 
David,” said Ottolene. “But he can’t be as 
glad as I am.” 

Gradually the letters grew brighter and more 
jubilant. They would surely see David soon. 
General Washington was turning his army 
towards New York again. 

Then, one day, the cry rang through the city: 
“Cornwallis has surrendered!” 

The sword of England had been handed to 
the Commander-in-Chief of the American 
army. 

“Peace!” went up the cry, over and over 
again. “ The war is ended! The Colonies are 
free! Peace to our Land! ” 

“ And my father will be set free!” cried Ot¬ 
tolene, while their hearts all throbbed with joy. 


CHAPTER X 


“When will they open the prison doors?” 
asked Ottolene. “ The enemy has no right to 
hold our men an instant longer. Mother, what 
can be done? ” 

The girl had only waited to make sure that 
her ears had heard aright. Then she had flown 
to the jail, to be the first to welcome her father 
on his release. But she found the grim doors 
still barred, and the prison sentries still stand¬ 
ing immovable on either side of the gate. 

“We have no orders to open the prison 
gates,” they told her. 

“And why not?” she asked hotly. 

“Ask the Lord General,” answered one of 
them impudently. 

“Mother! What can be done?” 

Charles Bradshaw, who, at the invitation of 
Sally, had limped to the Van Dam house to share 
in the rejoicing, answered this question. 

“ Ottolene, you must be patient. They say 

238 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 239 

that the British authorities have forbidden any 
word of peace being sent to the prisoners. I 
suppose they fear an uprising, in revenge for 
their long months of captivity.” 

“Word is forbidden to be sent to American 
soldiers that the battle is won? They are kept 
in captivity when they are free?” Ottolene 
was bitter. 

But the girl’s fit of temper did not last long. 
Her dough was rising in the kitchen; it was 
nearly ready for the oven. Her cool, deter¬ 
mined wits were working swiftly and surely on 
an idea which had entered her active brain. 

This bread-making, as we have seen, had been 
the sole charge of Mistress Van Dam and Otto¬ 
lene ; even Drusilla had no hand in it. The girl 
now peeped under the snowy cloths at the round 
loaves of dough, almost as white as their cov¬ 
ering. In less than five minutes they would 
be ready for the oven. 

The rest of the household had scattered. Ot¬ 
tolene hurried into the living-room. She sat 
down at her father’s secretary, dipped his quill 
pen in the ink, and drew a sheet of paper 
towards her. 

Then, in a clear, childish hand, she wrote in 


240 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

six places: “ Cornwallis has surrendered. 

Peace is declared. You are free.” 

Carefully she cut the six messages in sepa¬ 
rate little sheets, and folded each one several 
times. 

Out in the kitchen once more, she poked six 
wads of paper into six swelling loaves, which 
quickly closed over their new possessions. Then 
into the oven went those pans of snowy dough, 
and a rosy-cheeked girl sat down quietly by the 
window to wait for them to bake. 

“I’m going to take the bread to the prison 
smoking hot to-day,” she called, as her mother 
passed the door. 

“ If only we could send them the good news! ” 
said her mother. “ I shall put on my bonnet 
and be ready to go with you, Ottolene.” 

“ And I am coming, too,” cried Neltje. 
“The house is not large enough to hold my joy 
to-day.” 

“ Let us all go,” said Mrs. Lansing, her eyes 
sparkling as of old. “ Let us walk the streets 
together as free Americans!” They all sal¬ 
lied forth, Sally and Charles bringing up the 
rear of the company, for the latter still limped 
badly. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 241 

“ The English are not so high and mighty 
this morning,” said Sally, with her gurgling 
laugh. 

When they reached the prison gates Otto- 
lene and her mother handed in the hampers of 
food, as they had done so many times before. 

Smell that tasty crust!” said one of the 
guards under his breath. “ The poor devils 
will fall upon that right quickly.” 

“ Let us walk down to Bowling Green and 
back,” suggested Ottolene. “ It is too great 
a day to stay indoors.” They were all of one 
mind. The end of the long struggle had come, 
and their dreams were at last beginning to come 
true. Fully an hour later they turned to make 
their way home, when there came a faint sound 
of cheering from within the prison. At last, 
the prisoners had heard the news! 

As they hurried back, there came a sound 
that was neither faint nor uncertain. It was 
the roar of human voices and the crashing of 
doors and iron bolts. The guards had been 
overcome. The prison gates were wrenched 
open, and the sentries were powerless as the 
stream of Americans burst forth. 

There were young men and old men, with 


242 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

unkempt locks and beards of several months’ 
growth. There were men whose hair had grown 
snow white from the torture of long imprison¬ 
ment, men in civilian clothes, and men in 
ragged Continental uniforms. They were 
dazed by the light of day; they were feeble 
from lack of exercise; but they sent up frenzied 
shouts as they surged forth from the prison, for 
at last they were free. 

The sentries slipped away without a word. 
From a little distance the Tory troops looked 
on, jeering at the uncouth appearance of their 
former prisoners. But the jeering had no 
sting. They were the conquered ones now, 
and these men with disheveled beards and tat¬ 
tered garments were the free men, the children 
of the Land of Liberty. 

Charles and the little group of women stood, 
for a moment, rooted to the spot. The tears 
were running down Neltje’s face. Her mother 
stood pale and silent. But Ottolene pressed 
forward, step by step, scanning the face of 
every man who emerged from the prison. 

Suddenly her eyes lit up. “Father! My 
father! ” she cried, pushing her way through the 
crowd. A moment later, Augustus Van Dam, 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 243 

worn and haggard, was smiling into the faces 
of his wife and children. 

“ And now, our first thought must be to build 
again.” 

It was a day or two after the breaking of 
the jail, and the reunited family were sitting as 
of old, talking with their guests, the Lansings. 

It was Mrs. Lansing who spoke. Up to now, 
she had had no heart to make another home for 
herself and Sally. She had been content to 
stay in the safe refuge she had found with her 
friends. But now she was impatient to have 
her own home. 

“It behooves every New Yorker, every 
American, to make a home which shall be a 
stronghold for the peace and freedom which 
has been won,” she continued. And before 
that week was ended, she and Sally and the 
limping Charles went forth to seek lodgings 
near the site of the old Lansing home. 

“Has any word come from David?” asked 
Augustus Van Dam, morning after morning, 
as he sat in his high-backed chair, smoking his 
long pipe. He was thinner and older, but once 
more content in the comfort of his home. 


244 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

44 Here is a letter that has just come by the 
morning’s post,” announced Neltje, one day. 
“ I shall read parts of it. 4 Sir Guy Carleton 
has written General Washington that the Eng¬ 
lish troops are ready to vacate New York. And 
I believe that on November 25th our troops 
will officially take possession of the city, with 
the Commander at their head.’ ” 

As Neltje finished reading this sentence, a 
messenger came to the door. 44 1 have been 
sent by the City Council,” he said, 44 to make 
you aware, Master Van Dam, that there will be 
a meeting of all patriots to-morrow at Cape’s 
Tavern, to prepare for the entry of the Ameri¬ 
can forces into New York, with General Wash¬ 
ington and Governor Clinton.” 

44 Tell the Council I will be there,” said 
Augustus, with his old energy and vehemence. 

He returned from the meeting the next day, 
eager to tell of the plans that had been drawn 
up for the great event. 

44 All the citizens are to march in a body to 
meet the troops,” he explained to his wife and 
the girls, 44 and each is to wear a Union cockade 
of black and white ribbons, and a spray of laurel 
in his hat, We are to meet at Bull’s Head Tav- 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 245 

ern and form a great square around the Gen¬ 
eral and the Governor, and so conduct them 
through the city.” 

It seemed to the girls that the next few days 
would never pass. The chill November wind 
blew in from the river, and the devout New 
Yorkers prayed that it might not storm when 
the great day arrived. 

The twenty-fifth of November dawned clear 
and cold and brilliant. The British troops 
were already on the move, when General Knox 
took possession of the city with his American 
forces. When this was done, the citizens’ com¬ 
mittee started on horseback from Bowling 
Green, to greet the conquerors. 

Mistress Van Dam and her daughters, with 
the Mortons and the Lansings, did not miss a 
move of either army. Not one of them spoke, 
as the long lines of red-coated soldiers tramped 
down the Bowery to Chatham and Pearl 
Streets, and then on to the river, where they 
were to embark. 

Then Neltje whispered: “ How long it seems 
since that army landed here that Sunday morn¬ 
ing when Mrs. Murray held them back.” 

“ Pray that the years of peace, which, please 


246 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

God, lie before us, may be many times longer 
than those dreary stretches which are past,” 
breathed Mistress Van Dam. 

“Here they come! Here they come!” ex¬ 
claimed Ottolene, as shouts went up from all 
sides. 

George Washington had ridden down from 
Harlem that morning, and was now entering 
New York. At the head of the procession rode 
a body of cavalry from Westchester. Then 
came General Washington and Governor Clin¬ 
ton, Lieutenant Governor Van Cortlandt, with 
the members of the City Council, and hand¬ 
some General Knox and his officers. Then 
came the long line of exultant and thankful 
New Yorkers from all walks of life. The Eng¬ 
lish troops were still boarding their boats as this 
procession reached Wall Street. 

David had been very near the Commander- 
in-Chief during the march into the city. As 
soon as he could leave Bull’s Head Tavern, 
where the official reception was held, he made 
his way up Broadway with all possible haste. 
He had seen his cherished little group when 
he passed the spot where they were watching, 
and he was impatient to be with them once more. 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 247 

And a few minutes later, he and Neltje were 
together, telling each other of the thrilling 
events that had taken place since they had been 
separated. 

That had been a wonderful day for the city. 
At night, Governor Clinton gave a dinner at 
Fraunce’s Tavern to General Washington and 
many of his officers, at which the first of several 
toasts was to the United States of America. 
Then New York gave itself up to rejoicing. 
For two days, homes and taverns rang with 
joyous talk and holiday cheer. 

But soon after the evacuation of the city by 
the British troops, this joy took on a shade of 
gravity, even of sadness. 

The great General who had led the American 
army to victory, the wise man who had over¬ 
come all trials, all hardships, all discourage¬ 
ments, was now about to lay down his arms as 
Commander-in-Chief of the American forces, 
to return to the quiet home at Mount Vernon 
and the private life for which he longed. On 
Thursday, December fourth, the same officers 
who had moved in triumph through the city 
streets with their General, now gathered once 
more at Fraunce’s Tavern to bid him good- 


248 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

» 

bye. One after one, the officers held George 
Washington’s hand as they passed before him. 
And when all had given him their personal sa¬ 
lute, and stood before him as a body, he ad¬ 
dressed them in few and simple words. 

“ With a heart full of love and gratitude, I 
now take leave of you,” he said. “ I most de¬ 
voutly wish that your latter days may be as 
prosperous and happy as your former ones have 
been glorious and honorable.” 

The officers followed him to Whitehall Ferry, 
where a corps of light infantry stood in line 
as a guard of honor. 

There he embarked on a barge and departed 
from the city, waving his hat in farewell to the 
crowds on the shore, as he sailed away over the 
waters. 

“ It seems as though life were beginning all 
over again,” said Mistress Van Dam the next 
morning at the breakfast table. Her face 
beamed over the pewter urn. “ The war and 
all its horrors seem like a terrible dream now.” 

“ But it wasn’t a dream, Mother; it was real,” 
said the practical Ottolene. “ And I think 
we’ve got to keep an eye on those British for a 
long time.” 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 249 

“ Ottolene! ” 

The voice of Augustus Van Dam sounded 
sharply as of old; but it quickly softened as 
the girl turned towards him. 

“ Come here, close to me, child,” said he; and 
in an instant she was on the arm of his chair, 
with her father’s arm around her. 

“ Often I have been irritable and out of tem¬ 
per with you and Neltje and Mother, have I 
not, Ottolene? ” 

“ No, Father, never! ” answered the girl, al¬ 
most choking him with a hug. Augustus 
smiled. 

“ Often I have scolded the two of you when 
you were little girls, for no reason whatever.” 

“ I have no remembrance of it, Father.” 

“ My temper has caused many a stormy hour 
here in this very room itself, which was made for 
peace and happiness.” 

“ Father! What do you mean by such talk 
as this ? If ever thou wast cross to me, I have 
long ago forgotten all about it.” 

“ Ottolene, child, go back to thy seat. I have 
something to say to my family.” 

The girl did as she was told and slipped won- 
deringly into her chair, as Master Van Dam 


250 “The Pursuit of Happiness” 

rose to his feet, his great height towering at the 
head of the table. 

“ Mother, Neltje, Ottolene, David, — all of 
you have heard what has just been said. In the 
happiness of the present, Ottolene hath forgot¬ 
ten all my unreasoning rage and gouty temper. 
So would I have my family and all New York 
and all America forget England’s unfairness 
and unreasoning attitude towards us. I would 
have us as a family strive for this, and endeavor, 
now that our cause is won, to make her in our 
thoughts a sister land again, instead of an 
enemy.” 

“ Thou speakest with great wisdom, Augus¬ 
tus. ’Twill not be hard for me to put war out 
of my heart,” answered his wife. 

“ Nor for me,” echoed Neltje, drawing near 
to David. 

“You have uttered the thought of a great 
man, Master Van Dam,” exclaimed David 
Henry, starting to his feet and giving the mili¬ 
tary salute to the tall figure at the head of the 
table. 

Ottolene had also risen and was at her father’s 
side again. 

“ I cannot see that my father is in any way 


“The Pursuit of Happiness” 251 

like George of England and his Parliament,” 
said she, hotly. “ But as thou askest me, 
Father, I will truly strive for a kindly feeling 
towards Great Britain. And now may we 
please stop all this serious talk, and, beginning 
with to-day, take our walks in the garden as we 
used to do? ” 

“ Without fail,” answered the head of the 
house, starting for the piazza. “ But what is 
left of the garden? ” 

“ Scarcely a flower has had room to bloom 
here for many months,” declared Ottolene, 
“ choked as they were by the earthworks of the 
war. But the roots of things are here. See, 
the Baltimore Belle still clings to the railing; 
and next spring, when the grass is leveled, the 
flower beds can soon be laid out nicely again. 
And look! Father, Mother, — look! There 
is a strong young sprout on the stump of the 
old pear tree. We must guard it well.” 

“ Yes,” agreed Augustus Van Dam, bending 
over the young sprout in the early winter cold. 
“ We must guard it well.” 






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